PLX: The Road To Mastership
by Aladar
Summary: Pokémon Master. A title desired by many, achieved by few. Follow Kale on his uneasy but funny journey through Sinnoh! A story about a young trainer who surprisingly uses his brain, a coordinator bent on beating her rival and one completely crazy guy.
1. The Beginning of the Line

**_Chapter 1: _**

**_The beginning of the line_**

"_There`s no way I can lose now."_

"Dusclops, you ready?"

"Clooops!" the human shaped, gray Pokémon with a single round red eye answered. It had white three-fingered arms directly attached to it`s body and three bandage ends coming out of it-one was like a ponytail.

The Pokémon's trainer was a young boy. He wore a yellow track suit with black vertical stripes and matching black sneakers. A sweat drop fell across his face from his spiky blonde hair- his opponent was giving him quite the match.

The boy stared at the large, red and orange, bulky Pokémon on the other side of the field. It was human shaped but with a round torso and no neck. It had large pink lips and a single flame protruding from its head. Its tail was made form red flames, too. The Pokémon's yellow hands were shaped like cannons but they had retracting claws.

The Fire type`s trainer - the gym leader- was a tall, middle-aged man with short black hair and hazel eyes. He was dressed with a black shirt with a flame design and dark blue jeans.

"Be prepared, Magmortar, it`ll come any second now." he ordered the Blast Pokémon.

"Dusclops, Psybeam- full power!" the young trainer shouted from across the field.

"Now, Magmortar! Charge head-on!" was the unexpected reply of the gym leader.

The ghost Pokémon charged for a second energy in its single eye and fired a rainbow-colored, lightning- shaped beam from it.

It seemed that time has slowed its pace…

The Magmortar was charging recklessly, facing the incredibly powerful attack without even a glimpse of fear in its eyes…

The beam sparkled one last time and hit the Pokémon with a force so devastating that the field cracked…

It seemed that everything was over. The smoke was covering the entire field and the young challenger couldn`t see beyond his trusted Dusclops. The smoke was starting to disappear.

Then the gym leader shouted:

"Magmortar, Overheat!"

The trainer couldn`t believe his eyes and ears. His opponent`s Pokémon jumped from within the lifting smoke- it was scarred by the attack but glowing red nonetheless.

Magmortar landed in front of Dusclops and pointed its cannon-shaped arm at the ghost Pokémon. With one last red glow it released a devastating barrage of flames. Dusclops was sent flying and crashed in the wall behind his trainer`s back, nearly destroying it.

The boy was devastated. He recalled his trusty partner and said:

"You were great out there, buddy, have a good rest. Winning streak or not, this guy showed us what strong means."

"Don`t be too hard on yourself, kid! I wouldn`t risk with the last move if I knew I`d last longer against you." the gym leader was now standing next to the boy, smiling at him. "Now why don`t you go see that beautiful town of ours, train a couple of days and come to challenge me again?"

"You know, I`ll do just that! And I`ll win next time!" the boy replied and sprinted out the gym in the blink of an eye.

"That`s the spirit! " The middle-aged man shouted running after the boy.

But when he got out he only caught a glimpse of a boy with a yellow track suit running down the street.

"Man, nowadays kids are really hyperactive. Wish I were so fast!" the man laughed.

"Dad, _now_ could you drive me to Sandgem Town? You said you`ll do it after you face your challenger but instead of doing it you are standing here laughing you head off!" said the gym leader`s son.

The boy was standing at the front door of the gym and his hazel eyes were shining with excitement behind the rectangular glasses with black rims. His black hair- another treat he shared with his father- was blown by the morning wind looking even spikier than it was...

The future Pokémon trainer folded his arms and threw a rigorous stare at his father. The man was taken aback for a second- the look in the boy`s eyes reminded him of his wife. His son`s character was like a copy of his mother`s- cheerful and sometimes clumsy, but prideful and strict when they wanted something done their way.

"Well, since I know you are always early for anything I prepared the car yesterday. You`ll get your starter, Kale, don`t worry!" the gym leader replied.

But his son wasn`t ready to give up:

"Someone could get there before us! There are only three starters! That`s why I piled up four alarm clocks near my bed!"

"Geez, I didn`t even know we had so many." Kale`s father laughed "Anyway, it`s eight in the morning. Nobody is going be up _so_ early!"

"But Celestic town is miles away from Sandgem Town! Until we get there it would be at least 11 o`clock."

"And standing here and talking about it gets us there faster how?"

Kale paused for a second then burst into laughter:

"You got me there, Dad. Let`s g…"

"Wait for a sec, champ! Your Mum and I have some presents for you first." The boy`s father interrupted.

The pair than went back inside the gym. There was still some smoke inside, ironically matching with the gym`s red walls with yellow flame design. There were stands at the right side of the field and next to them stood a door through which Kale and his father entered their house.

The interior of the house was different than the bold and bright design of the gym. The wall colors were mild. Every room had a different color theme with two main colors- white and silver, cream and light brown or shades of blue.

When they entered the living room Kale`s mother was sitting on the couch and reading a magazine. When she heard someone entering the room she cast up her piercing black eyes. The woman smiled when she saw her eleven-year-old son standing next to his father all grown up. She smiled despite being sad that her little boy was going on his journey and stood up and hugged Kale.

"Mum, I`m not a kid anymore!" the boy said in spite of the fact that he was hugging his mother, too.

"You know that if I still considered you a kid you`d never go on this journey, right?" the woman replied laughing.

Then she gave Kale a small yellow packet wrapped like a present.

"This is your travelling present from me. I`m sure they`ll come in handy for an excellent poke ball grip. Literally."

Kale tore open the packet like a hungry Snorlax. Inside it there was a pair of fingerless gloves. They were black with yellow edges and a yellow poke ball symbol on them.

"Wow, they`re great!" Kale exclaimed "And they match my top design, too." He pointed to his blue T-shirt with yellow edges. For originality`s sake- or at least Kale thought like that- he wore it over his black blouse.

A second after Kale put on the gloves his father joined the conversation:

"Sarah, I won`t let you be the only one giving presents around!" he burst in his usual laugh and pulled out something from the yellow pocket of his shirt. He slightly bent down to his son-the boy was fairly tall for his age- and opened his cupped hand in front of him.

In it there was a necklace: a golden poke ball, as big as a ping-pong ball, with a silver center ring and button, as well as a mark that looked like a silver wing on the top of it.

With trembling hands Kale picked the necklace up by it`s golden chain. He hesitated to put it on and said:

"Dad, that`s your lucky charm! Are you sure you want to give it to me? "

"Why not? That little trinket you`re holding brought me luck when I was on my journey. I`m sure with it you`ll be lucky too." Was his father`s simple answer. "Now lets get going before you`re really late!"

Kale was out of the room before his Dad had finished the sentence. After a record-fast shoe-lace tying he grabbed his parent`s arms and sprinted out of the house. He pushed his father in the black car parked in front of the house and was about to jump in the car himself when his Mum stopped him.

"Not so quick, young man! We still have some rules to talk about."

"But, Mum! We`ve already talked about them. Yesterday, remember?" was her son`s response.

"Okay, okay." Sarah sighed "But be careful! And phone when you stop at a Pokémon center, right? "Then she leaned forward and planted a kiss on her son`s forehead "Now, go get them, my boy!"

Kale was so excited that after he jumped in the car he forgot to wave goodbye. He turned back but the only thing he saw through the windshield before the car turned was his mother, with her brown hair and long green dress blown by the wind, waving goodbye to him.

Then the car was suddenly on Route 211 and Kale left behind his hometown, his family and friends to follow his dream….To be a Pokémon Master!

With his Dad silent and focused on the road Kale began to think. He was thinking how he had to wait a whole year after he turned ten because he had to finish Trainer school. He finished it all right- on top of his class. But for him the Trainer school was just a stepping stone…he lost a year but gained training with different Pokémon and learned some useful stuff… For Kale it wasn`t enough to win a League- he was aiming for a record- to be the youngest trainer to win the Sinnoh League. And since the youngest winner ever was twelve…well, he didn`t have much time.

But it was the way he liked it- one shot-no more, no less. Trying a second time would be killingly boring. Kale didn`t have much sleep last night, he was tired of all the excitement and while watching the ever-changing landscape through the window he slowly dozed off….

He was in the middle of a large stadium…everything was blurred and the only thing he saw were thousands and thousands of faces….chanting his name again and again…. He was excited, happy, nervous, astounded….and he had no idea what he was doing.

Then he saw him…first just a face, then shoulders, and torso, and legs- the Champion!

Kale lifted his hand in the air and pressed the poke ball's button. He threw it and shouted:

"Go, Turtwig!"

A small, turtle-like, yellow and green Pokémon with a brown shell appeared in a flash of white light.

"Razor Leaf!"

The leaves on the Pokémon's head glowed and suddenly it changed… Now there was standing a small, monkey-like Pokémon. It was light brown, with a cream-colored belly and a tail flame…. Kale couldn`t believe his eyes and blinked…. But now in front of him was standing a blue penguin-like Pokémon! It opened it`s beak and said:

"Kale, wake up!"

"What?" the boy opened his eyes but regretted it after a second- the sun was shining brightly, blinding him with its light. A few moments later Kale recognized his father, leaning in front of his face.

"I said we are here. Sandgem Town! And we are right in front of Rowan`s lab!"

"What? Oh, the lab! And the starter! Great!" the boy jumped out of the car but instead of going to the lab he circled the car and opened the trunk. In it there was a blue bag, exactly like the one on the back seat.

"How come you have two bags?" his father asked.

"You don`t expect me to eat all the healthy food Mum made me pack, right? I wouldn`t survive a day out there without anything eatable!"

Kale`s Dad entered the car and while still laughing bid farewell to his son. Soon he was out of sight too and Kale was alone in front of the lab. After standing outside for a few seconds he entered.

The lab was extremely clean-from top to bottom the blue and white walls were reflecting Kale as he walked towards the big door at the end of the entrance hall. He was about to open the door when he heard someone behind him saying:

"I wouldn`t do that if I were you."

Kale turned around and saw a boy, probably his age, outstretching his arm.

"I`m Lucas. Lucas Damon. And you are?"

Kale was a little surprised but shook hands with the boy.

"Kale Winstar. And why shouldn`t I open this door?"

"Because the Professor isn`t here and they are conducting some important, you-know-how secret researches in there. They shoved me out the second I walked in. Hey, you look familiar somehow. Were you in Jubilife`s Trainer school?"

"Yes, I was." Kale replied "Are you here for your starter too?"

"Yup! Not that I know who it will be anyw…"

Suddenly, the lab doors opened with a bang and a few people dressed in lab coats sprinted out. One of them shouted to an assistant who had stayed behind:

"Call Officer Jenny now! The Professor said that the crooks had stolen the starters and were heading to the lake."

Both boys were astounded:

"Starters…"

"Stolen!"

The two future trainers stared at each other for a second than ran after the lab assistants. They had just started the engines and were about to head to the lake but the boys jumped in one of the jeeps at the last second. They hid under the back seat and waited.

Soon the cars stopped and the assistants stormed out of them and ran into different directions. The boys waited a minute and then jumped out of the jeep. For a second time today Kale was blinded by the sun. He looked around and saw a small forest in front of him. The wind was picking up again and Lucas had to set his red hat right. He fixed his disheveled blue hair and said:

"No sense waiting around here. Let`s go." then he walked in the forest.

Kale followed him closely but stayed silent. It was almost noon and in spite of the fact that the sun was shining brightly the tall, maybe century-old trees stopped much of the light before it reached the forest floor. Many small Pokémon hid in the bushes- the boys could see many Bibarel, Bidoof, Rattata and even some curious Teddiursa who had wandered away from their overprotective parents. When Kale looked up he saw many more Pokémon on the tree branches-most of them were Bug-types.

The forest was silent-the only sounds were the cries of the invisible for the boys bird Pokémon above the branches. Then after maybe twenty minutes of walking in the silence Lucas stopped.

"Did you hear that?" he whispered.

"Hear what? This place is so silent that it`s creeping me out." Kale answered annoyed but quiet.

"It sounded like two men….bickering about something" Lucas paused for a few seconds.

"Listen!"

At first Kale didn`t hear anything different than the mundane forest sounds but after a some time he heard voices getting louder and louder by the minute. It seemed that the men were near. Then a third, female voice joined the bickering. The voice was strangely girly- like an adult whose voice still sounded like they were ten:

"You two must be the biggest idiots in our organization! This was supposed to be a covert operation! We just had to enter the forest, go to the lake and install the scanners! But you fools had to steal Pokémon! And not ordinary ones, oh no! You had to steal Professor Rowan`s Pokémon. The starters which the police will be looking for half a minute after they are missing!"

The woman was interrupted by one of the men. His voice was trembling- it seemed that the woman ranked higher than him:

"B-but, C-commander! We thought tha…"

"No "buts"! Now hurry up! We have one scanner left."

Lucas followed the voices to the edge of the forest. He found himself on the beach of Lake Verity. He hid behind a bush and saw the people who were talking. They were dressed very strange: the men were in some kind of grey and black tracksuit-like uniforms and they had a stylized yellow "G" on them. The woman`s uniform was similar but she had a long, round skirt in addition.

Then to Lucas` surprise he saw Kale _behind_ them. Kale pointed to the briefcase near them and slowly crawled towards it. His friend couldn`t believe his craziness and watched amazed as Kale grabbed the briefcase and slowly retreated to the bushes.

"You are insane!" was the angry whisper with which Lucas greeted Kale when he returned to him.

"Maybe. But we have the poke balls in here. Let`s just return to the jeep and wait for the other guys."

"Well, that`s sort of a plan. Let`s get out of here before Princess Bossy out there finds us." Lucas said and then headed to the forest.

"Princess Bossy, eh? And you boys are?" the unmistakably girly voice lisped behind them.

The boys turned terrified to face the red-headed woman.

"You idiots finish installing the scanner!" she told the grunts "And I`ll deal with _these_ midgets."

"And what are you going to do? Stop us with your _clown _looks?" Kale laughed.

"NOW I`M REALLY ANGRY!" the scream took the boys aback. "FIRST IT WAS A BAD HAIR DAY, THAN THESE GREEDY IDIOTS AND NOW SOME PUNKS MAKING FUN OF ME!? THAT`S IT! GO, PURUGLY!" she threw a poke ball and from it in a flash of light emerged a big gray and white feline with a wound tail and big ears with purple ends.

"Puuuur!" the Pokémon exclaimed. It stared coldly at the two boys and looked like it was ready to tear them apart.

"Pick one from the briefcase and fast!" Kale told Lucas, himself with a poke ball in hand already. Lucas nodded, grabbed a poke ball for himself and stood ready. Both boys threw their poke balls at the same time:

"I choose YOU!" they shouted.

The round red and white spheres opened and two Pokémon emerged in a flash of light.

A monkey-like, light brown, cream-bellied Pokémon with a red tail flame landed in front of Kale and a small, blue, penguin-like Pokémon who looked like it was dressed in a tuxedo landed in front of Lucas.

"Awesome! I picked Chimchar!"

"And I- Piplup! Now let`s show her how to battle!"

But the woman was already ordering an attack:

"Fury Swipes, now!"

Purugly jumped, claws glowing, at the two trainers.

"Chimchar, use Ember!"

"Piplup, Bubblebeam!"

The two Pokémon fired their respective attacks. Chimchar fired a beam of red-hot embers and Piplup a beam of blue-glowing bubbles. The attacks met with Purugly`s claws mid-air. For a Pokémon so big it moved incredibly fast. It broke free from the colliding attacks and ran toward the starter Pokémon while moving in zigzags.

"Chimchar, use Dig!"

"Chaaaar!" the Chimp Pokémon answered and dug in the ground with blinding speed-Purugly`s attack barely missed. The Thick Fat Pokémon's claw stuck in the ground for a second and then Lucas shouted:

"Peck, quick!"

The Penguin Pokémon's peck glowed white and it jumped head-on at it`s much bigger opponent and started to peck it furiously.

"Shake it off!" the woman screamed.

Purugly managed to press Piplup to the ground and was about to attack when Kale shouted:

"Chimchar, now!"

"Chim!" the Chimp Pokémon rocketed from the ground and uppercut it`s opponent in the face. The feline Pokémon was forced back and looked battered.

"Gee, no wonder they called it Pur_ugly_" Kale whispered to Lucas.

"I. HEARD. THAT! HYPER BEAM!"

Purugly opened its mouth and a glowing yellow-orange sphere formed in front of it. The two trainers grabbed their Pokémon and jumped back the second the Hyper Beam was fired. The effects were devastating and the boys stayed on the ground guarding their partners with their bodies. With pieces of dust still falling on their heads Lucas shouted:

"YOU JUST CAN`T KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT, CAN`T YOU!"

"OH YEAH ? AND WHO CAME UP WITH THE PRINCESS BOSSY NICKNAME!"

Unexpectedly, Purugly jumped on them and started Fury Swiping their backs.

"You kids are stupid nowadays. Just let Purugly slice and dice your Pokémon. And maybe I`ll tell her not to slice and dice you!" she laughed.

But the boys, despite doubling in pain, continued to protect their new partners. The little Pokémon were amazed at how brave their trainers were. Chimchar and Piplup looked at one another- and then, after a brief nod, they slipped out.

Piplup jumped in front of Purugly and took the attack- but instead to double in pain it just rolled up and glowed white. The glow became more and more intense until the Penguin Pokémon released a white energy beam at Purugly, hitting it in the face. The force of the attack forced back the Thick Fat Pokémon. It was confused but was about to attack again when Chimchar came from nowhere, engulfed itself in fire and rolled towards Purugly. The hit was spot-on and it was forced into a tree, rendering it unconscious.

The two trainers, still lying on the ground in pain, were amazed at the starter Pokémon's strength.

Kale felt dizzy. The forest was silent again-the only thing he could here was the wind, swiftly blowing above the surface of Lake Verity. The lake…he could see it`s gentle waves coming towards him from there….someone was shouting near him:

"Commander Mars! The police are here! Hurry!"

Someone running near him….the waves…the lake itself was glowing brightly, shoving out of his mind the pain, the forest, everything. Then, something emerged from the center of the lake….it seemed unearthly, more a spirit than a living being. The creature looked at Kale…their eyes met…..and darkness engulfed him.

**TBC**


	2. Defending the Dream

Chapter 2:

Defending the Dream

[I]Voices...

The only word he could comprehend at that moment.

He knew he was hearing something...

As his mind was racing to catch up with his senses the noises became louder and louder- like annoying flies bugging you while you are asleep.

He tried to fend them off... but no arm rose to do his bidding.

He didn`t have an arm... nor he had a body.

He was just there- floating in the nothingness, surrounded by such darkness that the darkest night paled in comparison.

Then he felt something else- like shivers, crawling under his skin... He felt fear.

Fear that albeit he could look he could not see.

He could listen but could not hear.

He felt like he had jumped from a cliff but had forgotten to fall... and now he was just hanging- nothing surrounded by nothing...

[B]Self removed from oneself.[/B]

But if he didn`t exist how could he think?

The question just appeared from the dark ocean around him... but no answer followed.

He desperately tried to hear the voices again... and they came.

First quietly, like raindrops falling from the sky and as they hit the black surface around him exploding in millions of miniature versions of themselves their message echoed in his mind...

And as the echoes became more and more intense they became raging waves, engulfing him one by one and guided him away from the empty prison around him...

He held to them like he had never before... and awoke. [/I]

When Kale opened his eyes everything around him was a blur- as if someone had shoved a painting of an artist who just throws buckets of paint around in his eyes.

This time his brain caught up quickly- Kale realised someone must have taken his glasses off.

He decided to stand up and look for them but was stopped by a sharp pain in his back. Realising that his whole torso was covered in bandages he remembered about his adventure at Lake Verity... and the creature he saw there.

But the pain shoved him back in the real world and he dismissed the thought- it was probably a hallucination.

Kale heard the voices again- they were coming from a glass door across the room. They sounded troubled and nervous.

"Probably buzzing about me and Lucas." Kale thought.

The boy looked around the room trying to spot Lucas somewhere. His bright hazel eyes stopped on the bed closest to the window- Lucas was lying on it and was still asleep.

It was probably late morning because the sun was shining brightly through the windows, its light reflected by the clean white walls of the room and even the pearl-white bed sheets.

Kale, still staring at Lucas` disheveled blue hair- the only part from him not hidden by the silk bed sheets, wondered whether his friend was okay.

Then something else caught Kale`s attention.

On the bedside table next to him was lying a poke ball- it was probably under the sunlight the whole day but it was still cold to the touch.

But Kale could feel the inner warmth stemming form within the red-and-white sphere, the inner fire of the Pokemon inside...

Fate had guided Kale`s hand when he grabbed Chimchar`s poke ball.

And fate was okay in Kale`s book... for now.

"Oh, I see you have woken up!" a young woman cheerfully exclaimed.

Kale could barely see her- her white dress, whiter even than the sheets, blended with the room`s walls. If not for her bright pink hair stylised in two long wound locks, the young trainer wouldn`t have seen her when she sat next to him.

As her warm gentle fingers checked the wounds on his back she explained quietly:

"You`ll be up and running soon, don`t worry!"

Several beds next to them Lucas mumbled something about Bubblebeams and Bides in his sleep and she lowered her voice even more:

"The wounds were deep but we managed to patch you up- you were lucky that the Proffesor and his assistants brought you here on time. And he is the one who left the poke..."

She was interrupted by a loud "BANG"- the door had shut open and two women stormed in the room.

Kale`s vison was obscured by his mother`s wavy hair and her tight hug left him breathless. The nasty thing was that the wounds on his back sent a reminder of their existence that felt like thousands knives stabbing him again and again.

With his nervous system on fire the only thing he could mutter was:

"The back! Don`t touch the back!"

"Oh! I`m sorry, dear, I f-forgot for a moment." the trembling voice of his mother took the boy aback.

The nervous smile on her face couldn`t hide the obvious fact that she must had cried her eyes out- her usually bright green eyes were now red and had lost their sparkle.

On the brink of crying again she embraced her son so gently that even the wounds on his back stopped to bother him for a moment.

Between some strings of his Mom`s light brown hair Kale saw that Lucas was getting the same treatment.

"You got us worried sick, young man!" the mockingly strict booming voice of Kale`s father echoed in the room. Lucas` mother coughed forcedly.

"Oops, sorry about that!" the gym leader laughed nervously and continued with his normal voice:

"I`m glad you`re okay, son."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The doctors said the boys had to rest for a couple of days so the Winstars were invited to stay at Lucas` house by his family.

After an hour long exchange of civilities the boys` mothers` vocabulary of nice words ran short and they called it a truce.

The same afternoon the young trainers decided to show their starters to their families. The Damons were in awe of Piplup and Sarah adored Chimchar but something in Kale`s father `s look bothered the boy and he asked:

"What is it, Dad? Don`t you like Chimchar?"

It took a few seconds for the gym leader to realise his son was talking to him:

"Oh? No, no he is great!" Kale`s Dad replied nervously and tried to let his usual laugh out but failed- something his son had never seen in his whole life.

Seeing how awkward the situation had become Sarah interfered:

"Kevin, I think we should have a little talk with our son." she told her husband and then added:

"If our kind hosts don`t mind of course."

The Damons were taken aback by her request but agreed. Kevin just sighed:

"Come, Kale."

The boy returned Chimchar to its poke ball and followed his parents to another room. He coudn`t help but have a bad feeling when his Dad closed the door behind him.

Sarah stared at her husband with a meaning look but he just shook his head. Kale`s mother took a deep breath and said with trembling but strict voice:

"Kale, we don`t want you to be a trainer anymore."

If his mother had slapped him instead he would had been less surprised. Taking a step back the boy asked with a trembling voice:

"You`re kidding, right, Mom? D-dad?"

"You know how much we love you Kale." his mother continued " We... I can`t bear the thought what could happen to you while you are on your journey... What will we do if something like that happens to you again and we aren`t there to help you?"

The young trainer looked at his father, his eyes pleading for assistance, but the gym leader just muttered without even looking his son in the eyes:

"I`m sorry, son."

It felt like the floor beneath Kale had shut open, revealing the terrifying prison he had escaped mere hours before.

He felt like he was plummeting in the darkness, his body a prisoner between the moss-green walls of this suddenly stifling room... his mind chained in an abyss of nightmares...

They.. his own parents... wanted to take the dream of his life from him.

And like a rag-doll with cut strings, he fell to his knees.

Kale`s mother was about to try to comfort him but her son`s thunderous shout stopped her:

"NO!"

Outside in the corridor Lucas caught a glimpse of his friend storming out of the house.

It was unbelieveable!

As Kale`s body was taking him away from the house, tripping every now and then, his mind struggled to comprehend his parents` decision- they have always encouraged him, they have always supported him...

And now, when he finally had the chance to make his dream come true they wanted to take it from him.

Still running blindly towards the forest and Lake Verity the young trainer failed to notice the world around him.

For him the field he dashed across, the grass gently blown by the wind, the feeble flowers colored in blood red by the setting sun- they didn`t exist.

Nor did the scared little Pokemon running away from the unknown intruder in their land...

And the bird Pokemon high in the crimson sky, whose mighty cries were answered by thousands others in the forest?

For Kale it was all a mirage... a memory from a different time and place, a world he no longer belonged in.

His legs, still moving on their own, took him deeper and deeper into the forest until with an unexpected "BANG" something fell on the ground in front of him.

The thing caught his attention. Snapped out of his confusion, Kale picked it up by its wings- under the starling-like Pokemon`s wavy fringe was bumping a huge lump.

Kale was about to leave it alone when the Bird type`s shining black eyes shut open. Sensing a stranger, its light brown feathers brissled and with a cry mighty enough to mistake it for an Exploud, it prepared to battle.

The young trainer, despite all the sadness that burdened him moments before, couldn`t help but laugh when he saw the angry expression on the little Pokemon`s white face.

A mistake the tiny Bird type avenged sevenfold.

With another cry and fire in its eyes it started pecking Kale to see the fast-moving foe clearly the boy started waving his arms in the hopes of fending the attacking Pokemon off.

After some time running in circles Kale managed to hit it and the little Bird type rocketed into a tree.

Adding another lump to its collection because of the hit it was now even angrier than before.

Seeing this, Kale grabbed Chimchar`s poke ball and was about to throw it when the brave little Pokemon fell on the ground.

A little confused, the boy carefully approached his opponent. The said opponent was now lying on the ground, unable to move a muscle and breathing heavily.

Suddenly Kale felt tired. Realising that there was a long way to the house he just sit next to the battered Bird type.

The boy wanted to talk to someone who would understand him so he pressed the white button in the middle of Chimchar`s poke ball and released him.

The Chimp Pokémon emerged in a flash of white light next to its trainer- seeing no opponents to fight it exclaimed confused:

"Chim, chimchar?"

"Nope, no battles today, buddy. I just wanted to talk to you." Kale answered, his voice getting tired by the minute. "They want me to stop being a trainer, you know."

"Char! Chim-chaar!" the little monkey shrieked with trembling voice.

"Relax, they won`t take you from me! But we have to find a way to change my parents` decision."

Chimchar was glad to hear that he would stay with his partner and was about to start cheering but was cut short by a big yawn.

"Guess you tire even in your poke ball, eh?" Kale laughed sincerely "Come here!" he said and placed Chicmhar on his right shoulder.

The fire monkey yawned again, mummbled something that sounded like "Good night!" in Pokémon and fell asleep on the trainer`s shoulder.

As Kale was watching the red tail flame of his friend fade away he suddenly asked:

"And you, Starly? You had a bad day too?"

The Bird type was surprised that someone was interested in it but after a few seconds pointed to the night sky with its wing:

"Star! Starly!"

High above them, above even the tree-tops whose leaves whispered in the wind, Kale saw silhouettes of other flying Pokémon far bigger than Starly.

Still stargazing, his eyes piercing the silk-soft veil of the night around them, Kale asked seriously:

"They attacked you, didn`t they?"

But to his surprise Starly shook its tiny head and proudly pointed to itself:

"Sta-ar. Starly!"

The young trainer couldn`t believe such a tiny Pokemon would attack a whole group of foes clearly stronger than itself:

"You`re one crazy Starly, aren`t you?" he laughed so hard that his eyes got teary.

Starly apparently didn`t find it funny so after pecking the boy again it just flew off in the cold night air.

"Guess I offended him." slightly sad that, not counting the sleeping Chimchar on his shoulder, he was alone again, Kale tried to figure out how to make his parents reconsider but was interrupted by someone saying in a tired voice:

"You know," his father muttered breathing heavily "running around chasing you in the forest at night isn`t good for my health."

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Kale said surprised, not expecting his father to pop up there.

"What am I doing?" this time Kevin was genuinely annoyed " You ran away shouting, you stand here, just sitting on the ground, not caring that your mother is worried sick- again- and you are asking me what {I]I[/I] am doing here?"

Kale felt ashamed and just muttered:

"I... I didn`t realise it, Dad. I`m sorry. It`s just that when Mom told me that... that I won`t be a trainer anymore..."

But he was interrupted for a second time by his father:

"We could still make her reconsider... Listen now, it`s late. Let`s just go back to the house and in the morning we`ll have a battle."

Kale was used to his father saying crazy things from time to time but that was the craziest of them all.

"What? How will us having a battle improve the situation I`m in? That`s ridiculous!"

His Dad just hushed, folded his arms and proudly stated:

"Well, son, your not-yet-old man has a plan!" and continued with his usual voice:

"I`ll do everything in my power to persuade your mother but I want to battle my son to determine whether he is capable of defending the family name! To put it short: you win- I`ll try to make your Mom reconsider but if I win... you know what happens."

Hearing that Kale felt a sudden relief...

Knowing that now his fate was in his hands, at least partially, he felt in piece with the rest of the world.

And while returning to the house with his father, with Chimchar peacefully sleeping on his shoulder and listening to the chorus of hidden forest Pokémon around them, Kale felt a sudden surge of love for his father and exclaimed:

"You`re the best, Dad!"

His father paused for a second and then with the biggest possible grin on his face laughed out:

"Well, you know how it is, son. You [I]scratch[/I] my back and I [I]scratch[/I] yours!"

"Dad?"

"Yes, Kale?"

"That was a lame joke."

[B]TBC[/B]


	3. Challengers

**_Chapter 3:_**

**_Challengers_**

"Does he really think he can defeat his father?" the boy asked holding his red berete with one hand because of the strong morning wind.

The question filled with doubt and surprise hung in the air between Lucas and the woman next to him for what felt like eternity before she answered:

"Kale would never think about the possibility of losing but he is aware he can't win." her voice was cold and stern- Lucas had known Kale's mother only for a day but even he could sense the drastic change in the usually kind woman.

"Then why fight at all?" the boy couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Sarah just stood next to him, her emerald green dress gently blown by the wind, and stared at the improvised field with her piercing black eyes. Then, with a slight smile and trembling voice, she broke the awkward silence:

"Because my boy would never let his opponent win before putting up a good fight."

Deep in thought, Lucas just nodded. He threw a look at his friend on the far side of the backyard. Kale had already called out his starter, Chimchar. Both of them didn't even move a muscle. Only the Chimp Pokémon's sparkling tail flame and its trainer spiky hair, both blown by the wind, proved that they weren't just statues placed for some unknown reason on the green lawn behind the Damons' house.

Their similarly colored eyes shined with determination and anyone could recognize the desire to win- to prove themselves- which had surfaced from the depths of their very being.

But there was something in Kale's eyes- something almost …wild. Lucas couldn't exactly put his finger on it- the closest thing he thought of was a predator waiting for its prey.

Kale just stood there, not even blinking, not even phased by the furious wind, staring at his father on the opposite side of the field.

The middle-aged man had also called out his trademark Magmortar. The bulky Pokémon looked enormous compared to the little fire monkey facing it. The eternal grin on Magmortar's face looked even scarier with the rising sun behind his back…

And as the fiery orange-and-red sun made its way up in the morning sky, the singular flames on the Blast Pokémon's head and shoulders, as well as his fiery tail, grew bigger and denser as if they fed on the sunlight.

Both Magmortar and Kevin- the first because of his natural coloration, the second because of the flame design on his shirt- somehow blended with the blazing fire disc rising behind them.

The wind picked up again… and before even the echo of its mighty cry had dispersed in the morning air, Lucas' father, who was the referee, shouted:

"BEGIN!"

Kale didn't even wait for him to finish- he called out the attack the second the referee opened his mouth:

"Flamewheel, quickly!" his determined voice rang across the field.

Chimchar immediately charged forward engulfing himself in red-and-yellow flames mid-way. Magmortar didn't even seem a bit worried about the blazing fire ball rolling towards him. He just outstretched one of his yellow cannon-like arms- his movements were somehow dizzy and the look on his face showed that for him this was just a boring routine. He hardly considered the little fire monkey a worthy opponent.

Kevin on the other hand, looked serious and carefully examined Kale's moves.

By that time Chimchar was extremely near to Magmortar. The rolling fire ball Chimchar was now jumped off the ground and rocketed towards the Blast Pokémon. The attack had nearly made contact and everyone thought it was a hit when the gym leader ordered with a calm but serious voice:

"Fire Blast!"

As if everything froze around the two Pokémon…

Even the wind stopped its howling crusade while a devastating barrage of fire made its way out of Magmortar's cannon…

With one last faint glow the flames took the form of a blazing star before exploding the moment they made contact with the fiery wheel in front of them.

Chimchar was shoved back and landed violently on the ground with a small thud. He hadn't even gotten up when the wind, as if it wanted to see the outcome of the battle, cleared the smoke and everyone heard Kevin's stern voice once again:

"Keep up the Fire Blasts."

Magmortar let out a big yawn and, grinning as always, resumed the barrage of fire stars coming out if his cannon.

Lucas could have sworn he saw his friend's hazel eyes widen at that moment… and as Kale clenched his fists he shouted confidently:

"Now, Chimchar! Dodge them all with Dig!"

The little fire monkey obeyed without hesitation and dug underground in the nick of time- the attack missed him by an inch. Then, at least to Lucas, the battle seemed like a game at a fair for quite some time- Chimchar popped out of the ground just to delve back in as another fire star after another barely missed him. Magmortar was getting more and more annoyed by the second- he was forced to turn around and around again to keep up with the speedy opponent circling around him.

"He is trapping him!" a silent whisper unbelievably exclaimed. It took some time for Lucas to figure out it came form Kale's mother.

"Trapping him? Isn't he just dodging?" the boy asked confusedly

"Look at the position of the holes." was the simple answer.

Lucas threw a surprised look at the battlefield- Magmortar was standing in the middle, encircled by holes and waiting for Chimchar to pop out again. At the same time Kevin too realized the situation and his nervous shout blended with the order his son issued triumphantly:

"Magmortar, Protect! Quickly!"

"Chimchar, Flamewheel again!"

The Blast Pokémon had just managed to erect a sparkling greenish force field around him when a rolling wheel of fire rocketed from one of the holes.

The force field easily shrugged off the attack but Chimchar, still engulfed in fire, kept rocketing out from one hole or another just to hide underground again after bouncing off from the protective bubble.

"Tzk… It didn't work!" Lucas exclaimed genuinely sad.

"It worked all right!" for the first time today Sarah nearly laughed "Kale had seen nearly every battle his father had in the past five years. He knew this would happen."

"But why do it then?" Lucas couldn't help but be puzzled again.

"Because Magmortar is strong, but slow. Protect is his main defense against attacks that are both quick and powerful." she took a deep breath then continued "But Protect gets weaker every time you use it. By forcing Magmortar on the defense with nowhere else to go Kale can weaken his defenses [I] and [/I] dictate the pace of the battle."

Lucas just gasped, stunned by the strategy his friend had pulled out:

"I know I can battle well, but this kind of strategy? As if he had battled countless times before..." he thought.

By that time Magmortar's force field was getting visibly weaker and weaker under Chimchar's barrage of Flamewheels. Kevin just stood and watched with a slight smile on his face… and when the Protect finally faded away with one last glow and Chimchar hid underground again, he shouted:

"Fire Spin in one of the holes! Quickly!"

Magmortar immediately obeyed. Several seconds after he had plunged one of his cannons in one of the holes, pillars of swirling fire started protruding from the others. Kale had less than a second to decide what to do. Clenching his sweaty fists even tighter he shouted desperately:

"Use the thrust from his attack! Flamewheel!"

To everyone's surprise it worked- Chimchar, still a rolling ball of fire, rocketed for the hundredth time from one of the holes. The difference was his power and speed were doubled because of the fire tornado behind him pushing him forward. The Blast Pokémon, still with one hand down the hole, couldn't defend himself on time and was forced several meters away because of the hit.

Kale decided to use his opponent's momentary confusion and ordered excitedly:

"Scratch! He's too slow to keep up with you hand-to-hand!"

Chimchar let out a battle cry, jumped towards his opponent and started scratching him furiously. Magmortar couldn't hit the much smaller foe but suddenly, when Chimchar scratched him again, a flame erupted from Magmortar's body and pushed the fire monkey back. Chimchar was now on fire, unable to move while the searing red flames engulfed him, and everyone thought he was done for when Kale, with a smug smile on his face, said calmly but triumphantly:

"Now's the time! Absorb the flames!"

Chimchar's eyes shot open. With a mighty cry he absorbed the fire in his tail flame, making it bigger than himself.

"Flamewheel! Full power!"

All of them- Kevin, Lucas, everybody- were stunned by Kale's bold move. The gym leader could only mutter while staring at the rotating fire comet headed towards Magmortar:

"He used my Pokémon's own ability to increase Chimchar's power."

Then he suddenly realized the situation and shouted:

"Overheat!"

Magmortar immediately raised one of his cannons, while protecting himself with the other, his body glowing bright red…

His opponent was mere meters away from him… the wind froze in its tracks again…

Both Pokémon were in the situation they started the battle…But this time, for the fist time today, the thought of losing crawled in Magmortar's mind…

This time, Magmortar was afraid.

The pillar of flames that erupted from his cannon and the blazing comet Chimchar was now collided mere inches in front of the Blast Pokémon.

And when they did, the wind erupted again, his howling fury added to the loud BANG of the explosion…

And only the veil of smoke, now covering the whole field, remained…

Everyone waited, cursing the smoke for not lifting quickly… and when it finally disappeared they saw Magmortar. The Pokémon was kneeling, with an enormous bruise on one of his cannons- the one he protected himself with. Forced several meters back-the fresh tracks on the ground proved that- he was breathing heavily and his widened eyes stared at something in front of him… stared at Chimchar, now lying on the ground and unable to battle.

Lucas, still in awe, looked at his friend. Kale was now staring at the tall grass in his feet, his fists still tightly clenched and trembling. He had lost… Kale was well aware that he was no match for his father but he still had hoped… and now he was just standing like a statue, deaf to everything as Lucas' father was announcing the victor… his dreams were shattered…

"Man up, boy!" he hadn't noticed his father had walked over to him "What had I told you about pessimists not allowed in the family?"

Kale was about to bark at his Dad that he wasn't in the mood for stupid jokes but reconsidered when he saw the enormous grin on his father's face.

"That was a great battle, Kale." now serious, the man placed a hand on his son's shoulder "I knew you'd come up with a strategy but that last stunt…that I didn't expect."

Then he leant forward and whispered:

"Y'know, I'll have this little talk with your mother after all."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Everything happened so quickly." Kale thought while watching his friend Lucas train with his Piplup surprisingly hard in the backyard.

Since he set foot in the Professor's lab three days before, Kale was sucked in a whirlpool of events and now that he had finally reached the shore he felt like drained. His still aching back and the fact he didn't sleep the night before while trying to come up with a strategy burdened him even more. And combining that with the comfy chairs the Damons' porch had, it was no wonder Kale constantly fell asleep just to wake up a few minutes later and see Lucas and his starter training in the still messy backyard. And then Kale just threw a look at Chimchar sleeping peacefully on his lap before entering the sweet world of dreams again.

When his parents told him he wouldn't be a trainer anymore Kale felt like the world was falling apart around him. Unable to comprehend anything at first, his first thoughts were to shout, scream, run, even punch, hoping that by letting all emotions out of his system would help in some way… But now, when his fate was being decided just a couple of rooms away, he felt ironically calm. He had played his hand, the battle was over and he had put all his heart and soul in it… the only thing left was his parents, debating from early morning locked in one of the rooms, to announce their final decision.

This time Kale's blissful sleep was interrupted not by the sound of a Bubblebeam but by the screech of the house's back door next to him. Kale opened his eyes out of curiosity, hoping it was one of his parents, but to his annoyance he saw a tall but aged man in a white lab coat next to him. The stranger spoke with a gruff voice:

"I see you take good care of Chimchar."

The boy was about to ask the old man who he was when Lucas, who had just walked to them, interrupted him with excited voice:

"Good afternoon, Professor! You are here to give us our Pokédexes, right?"

The old man's smile was partially covered by his gruff white beard starting from his sideburns, but his voice was somewhat milder this time:

"Yes, Lucas. I didn't leave them to you the other day because I wanted to provide you with some instructions… but where are my manners? I haven't introduced myself to your friend here!" the Professor outstretched his arm and Kale shook it "I am Professor Rowan, Kale. We have met briefly when you were little but I presume you do not remember me."

As Rowan finished his introduction Kale finally remembered why the man's funny beard had been bugging his memory:

"Oh, but I do remember you, Professor! You're that guy who constantly lost bets to granps!" the young trainer replied with triumphant joy in his voice.

"I see that you have a talent for memorizing rather… meaningless details, young man."

"Strange… I remember you always overreact…"

" _Excuse_ me?" the voice who interrupted sounded quite arrogant and clearly mocking.

Apparently they didn't notice the boy who had came out the house just a minute ago. His cold black eyes, contrasting with his fire red hair with somewhat Staraptor like fringe- albeit much shorter, stared at the Professor coldly.

Rowan raised an eyebrow:

"And who might you be, boy?"

"Nigel Tyler. You informed me I can pick a starter despite having a Pokémon already, since I haven't started my journey yet. I was told I can find you here." he still sounded arrogant but clearly wasn't trying to mock Rowan.

The Professor seemed to remember but scolded the newcomer in annoyance:

"You are two days late, Nigel! Do you have an excuse?"

"I was already a whole year late, what does a day or two matter...sir?" Nigel added the last part noticing the stern look on Rowan's face.

The Professor was about to pull off a good long lecture about responsibility but decided to spare the other two boys:

"Well, I guess it does not matter to you that there is only one Pokémon left." Rowan tired his best not to sound annoyed but his usual gruff voice dulled the effect.

Nigel just threw a look at the now awake Chimchar and at Piplup resting in Lucas' arms than sighed with relief:

"Well, I guess other peoples' stupidity saves me once again- the grass starter is the one left, right?"

Hearing this, Kale, who was sitting calmly on his chair until now, jolted up and asked angrily:

"Define stupidity for us, _please_."

The other boy just raised an eyebrow, not even looking interested in his outburst:

"Well, the first two gyms are Rock and Grass type; there are also Water and Electric type gyms. Keep in mind that Turtwig's final stage dual-typing also fully negates Electric attacks... it's simple logic actually.

After an awkward pause Lucas was the first one to talk:

"Logical aren't we? Dare to put your logic to a test?"

"Why not? Sadly I have the type advantage- it won't be much of a challenge." Nigel just sighed indifferently.

Seeing a battle would soon take place, Rowan gave each of the boys six poke balls and a Pokédex after quickly explaining its features. Kale chose the blue one and instantly scanned Chimchar:

**Chimchar, the Chimp Pokémon. Chimchar easily climbs the sheerest of walls and lives on mountain tops. When it sleeps, its flames go out.**

Lucas followed suit using his yellow Pokédex but Nigel just scanned his extra poke ball- the one of his starter- with his red handheld-game-like device. Than he muttered something that sounded like:

"Not the best but I'll take what is given."

He headed towards one of the ends of the backyard accompanied by a strange rattling noise- Kale soon realized he had two metal chains decorating his black jeans. Lucas headed to the opposite end, his blue jeans and blue-and-white vest utterly contrasting with Nigel's black jacket and red T-shirt underneath it.

As Rowan was heading to the referee's place Piplup jumped from his trainer's arms and Nigel called out Turtwig. Leaning next to his starter the redhead told him something nobody heard and then the Tiny Leaf Pokémon took his place. Kale leant on the railing and prepared to watch as Rowan announced the beginning of the battle.

Lucas quickly started of by ordering a Bubblebeam attack. As the barrage of shining bluish bubbles neared, the green-and-yellow turtle-like Pokémon didn't even flinch.

"Razor Leaf." Nigel's indifferent command seemed to be late but to Lucas' surprise the lightning-quick sharp green leaves managed to push back Piplup's attack to the center of the improvised field.

"Peck!" Lucas was starting to sweat as he watched his blue penguin-like starter dash towards Turtwig. Nigel just smirked:

"Trying to best me with a Flying type move…predictable. Keep up the Razor Leaf, Turtwig."

His starter gladly obeyed and Piplup's pace was slowed because of the whirlwind of razor sharp leaves hitting him. Piplup had nearly reached his opponent when Lucas shouted:

"Jump and spin!"

The Penguin Pokémon jumped as high as he could and jolted back at Turtwig spinning, still with a glowing beak. The Tiny Leaf Pokémon panicked for a moment seeing his trainer wasn't planning on avoiding the attack and braced for the impact taking it head on.

"Bite. Then spin and release." Nigel yawned forcedly.

Piplup had just landed after the hit when Turtwig's mighty jaws snapped. Biting the little blue penguin by one of his wings Nigel's starter started spinning rapidly and then tossed Piplup all the way to Lucas' end of the field.

"Charge forward!" Lucas' voice was now trembling his fists were clenched and he was sweating heavily.

Piplup, despite being battered and bruised, stood up and obeyed.

"Razor Leaf, full power." Nigel ordered, indifferent and arrogant as always.

"Bide!" Lucas was starting to sound desperate.

Once again the whirlwind of leaves struck the Penguin Pokémon. He bravely held his ground, the firstly faint white glow emanating from him getting brighter and brighter, Lucas prayed Piplup would prevail, Nigel shouted at his starter to power up his attack and everyone awaited the outcome in awe…

**TBC**


	4. First Impressions

Chapter 4:

First impressions

"Turtwig, you're not making a good first impression here!" Nigel taunted in a mocking sing-song voice but the prominent vein on his forehead showed he was taking the battle seriously now…way more seriously.

Turtwig, hearing this, managed to increase the power of the devastating Razor Leaf even further. The concerned look on his face showed he desperately wanted to prove himself to his trainer.

By that time the Razor Leaf attack looked more like a leaf-composed tornado. It furiously jolted through the stifling afternoon air and shoved out of its way the gentle wind, just to be halted by the small rolled-up figure in the middle of the improvised battlefield.

The figure's bright white glow was getting denser- a sign that Piplup's mighty Bide attack was almost ready…

"Come on, pal, show him what you're made of!" Kale rooted out loud from the porch and Chimchar did the same in his language.

Lucas just stood like hypnotized, apparently not noticing anything else in the backyard except his penguin-like starter. Sweating heavily and tightly clenching his fists, his quiet pleas were silenced by the wind, ending cut in half and their remnants echoed in the depths of his mind…

Then, the outcome of the battle suddenly seemed decided- Piplup slowly, but triumphantly stood up, ready to fire the devastating energy beam. With one last desperate push, Turtwig cried out… unexpectedly, Piplup's glow faded away, and finally succumbing to the barrage of razor sharp leaves… he passed out.

"Piplup is unable to battle. Nigel is the winner!" Rowan's stern judgment sounded to Lucas like an official declaration he was a failure.

He briefly saw Kale coming towards him before closing eyes in shame and recalling Piplup. Nigel's voice, who apparently had reached him first, brought him back to reality:

"They were equally strong."

Lucas eyes shot open in disbelief:

"What?"

"The starters have equal strength." Nigel's voice wasn't only arrogant and mocking; he sounded utterly disgusted "Piplup had a chance to win. But your stupidity, lack of foresight and insistence to continue an already lost battle… you were the one who ruined it all."

Kale was about to say something to defend his friend, but was cut short by the redhead:

"You're a disgrace… and I feel sorry for every Pokémon you'll catch." as he said that Nigel turned back and with a few quick steps reached the freshly-painted wooden fence and jumped over it.

Staring at the red poke ball symbol on Nigel's black jacket Kale shouted angrily:

"Battle me! You said you have another Pokémon!"

"I've had my share of losers for today, I'll pass." Nigel smirked arrogantly and turned around the corner.

"He is right."

When Kale heard Lucas saying this with desperation in his voice, he angrily turned back to scold him… but was taken aback when he saw his friend kneeling on the ground.

"I am pathetic." Lucas continued, not even daring to meet Kale's eyes "I can't keep my cool in battle like he does, I… I can't come up with brilliant strategies like you!" he nearly shouted the last part, shocking Kale even more. "That's why I challenged him…to prove to myself I'm strong… but I only proved that I'm a loser." Lucas sighed.

Kale just looked at his friend, kneeling on the ground, with his hazel eyes still wide open in shock and then, to everyone's surprise- mostly Rowan's, who had just walked over to them- Kale raised his clenched fist and brutally punched Lucas in the face:

"GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" his angry shout shocked the now lying on the ground Lucas even more. Rowan looked ready to restrain the boy but he just continued his angry scolding:

"[I]One loss[/I]? You are ready to give up after one loss? You quit after some bragging from the guy who had defeated you? I, Lucas, don't even know if they'll let me [I]be[/I] a trainer anymore. But do you see me whining on the ground?"

Then Kale turned back and headed to the house, his spiky black hair slightly disheveled by the wind. When he reached the door he turned back and lisped, his voice filled with disgust just as Nigel's:

"And I, Lucas, thought of you as a worthy rival."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - -

"Kale, open the door, dear. I know you are in there." Sarah's gentle voice rang across the stifling room- the hated one with the moss-green walls. Here his mother had told him he wouldn't be a trainer anymore- and now she was about to tell him her final decision.

But Kale, despite desperately wanting to know the answer, just wanted to be left alone after his fight with Lucas an hour ago. He just wanted to sit on the floor next to the door and watch the lazy sun rays crawling the floor.

"Char- Chimchar?" his starter, a brownish monkey-like Pokémon, asked confusedly.

"Okay, okay!" Kale sighed and turned the key.

"Kale, what are you doing on the floor, dear?" his mother asked as she picked up Chimchar and pet him.

"Thinking." her son muffled tiredly.

Sarah smiled a bit then sat next to him and placed Chimchar in her lap.

"They told me about your argument with Lucas…" she started while smoothing her light green dress.

"Yeah, I shouldn't have hit him." Kale muttered again.

"No, you did the right thing." her calm response shocked him enough to lift his head and look her in her piercing black eyes. "Not the punch, of course… your reaction. Now I see that you take all this seriously…" she sighed as she tickled Chimchar's cream-colored belly. "Until now I didn't realize you do have grown up- and that you'll really fight for your dreams."

Tears started forming in her eyes as she placed something in Kale's hand.

"A Pokétch?" he asked as he inspected the blue digital watch holding it by its strap.

"I want to always be able to keep contact with you." Sarah cried out as she hugged her son.

"Y-you are letting me go?" Kale asked with a trembling voice. His mother answered with a wordless nod while wiping her tears.

The boy jolted up with excitement and his starter followed suit. His mother stood up as well, pushed back his black rectangular glasses and handed him something more: a blue poke ball with a yellow "X" on it:

"I caught my first Pokémon with a Quick Ball. Maybe you'll do the same." she explained, then kissed her son on the cheek and left the room, leaving the still excited Kale to stare at the Quick Ball in his hand.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Y'know, Chimchar, I'll give you a name." Kale suddenly exclaimed while walking down the forest road.

After hearing the great news from his mother he had packed his things, bid a quick farewell to everyone- excluding Lucas, he was nowhere to be found- and headed to the forest. He was planning on passing by Lake Verity one last time and then heading to Jubilife City.

The sudden idea came out of nowhere, as if it appeared somewhere from the depths of the cool forest around them. The veil of fresh green leaves whispered above them as Chimchar asked confusedly:

"Chim, chaar?"

"Why? To show you're unique, of course. The name will show you're no ordinary Chimchar but my partner!" Kale explained excitedly. His starter liked the idea and shrieked happily.

"Let's see now…" Kale continued "Your ability is Blaze, right?" the little fire monkey nodded "And we two will be aces, blowing away the competition…hmm… blaze, flame, ace…Wait, that's it! I'll call you Blace! Like "blazing ace", get it?"

Chimchar, or more appropriately Blace from now on, thought for a second, then decided he liked the name and started hopping on Kale's shoulder in excitement.

"Kay now, Blace, settle down…" the boy started laughing but was cut short by something jolting out of the bushes and landing in front of them with a thud.

"Pom-pom! Aipom!" a purple monkey-like Pokémon shouted from the bushes before running away.

Kale and Blace curiously inspected the Pokémon in front of them- and found out it was none other than the always battle-ready Starly they had met the other day. Sensing someone, he jolted up, ready to smack them with his glowing wing, but stopped with a funny "Oh, it's you two guys!" expression on his face.

"Man, you got beat again?" Kale laughed sincerely.

Starly, as expected, smacked Kale's head with his wing then burst into laughter himself.

"So, how have you been lately?" the boy asked while holding his hurt head.

Starly scratched the back of his head with his wing and waved the other in different directions:

"Star, star. Starly, li li starlii! Li, starlii. Star…"

"Okay, okay, I get it! You've been busy." Kale waved his hands in front of him and smiled nervously.

Hearing this, Starly patted their backs- a bit harder than needed- and flew away, high in the gentle blue sky after saying something in his language that sounded like "Gotta go!".

Kale, after bidding farewell as well, was about to continue down the road but suddenly stopped. While Blace looked at him in confusion, he detached the blue-and-yellow-now minimized- Quick Ball from his belt. He looked at it for several seconds and then, as he pressed the button to enlarge it, turned back and shouted at the fleeing Flying type:

"Hey, Starly! How about a battle?"

The second he heard him, the Starling Pokémon excitedly turned back. Flying at spectacular speed, the air around him swirled as he dived towards Kale.

"Ember, Blace!" the boy outstretched his arm and the fire monkey jumped off it.

After taking a deep breath, Blace exhaled a barrage of red-hot embers at the Flying type. They were about to hit Starly when he, the air still swirling around him, sped up and disappeared for a second before appearing out of nowhere in front of Blace and rocketing him into a tree.

"That was Aerial Ace! Guess his battles do pay off, eh?" Kale thought before shouting "Blace, jump off the tree! Flamewheel!"

The Chimp Pokémon jumped towards the closest tree and then bounced off it while his tail flame enlarged and engulfed him in red-and-yellow flames. Starly couldn't dodge in time and the blazing fire ball caught him by surprise. He was still falling and in mid-air when Kale shouted excitedly:

"Poke ball, go!"

The blue-and-yellow sphere he threw bounced off Starly, opened, and after converting him in white energy and storing it, closed and fell on the ground, its middle button now flashing red and beeping. Both Blace and Kale cheered when with one last "beep" the Quick Ball confirmed the capture.

"Yes! My very first captured Pokémon!" the trainer punched excitedly the air and his Chimchar followed suit.

- - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After passing by Lake Verity Kale had walked a good several hours following Route 202. Despite this, the Pokémon Center was still far away so he decided to camp somewhere among the trees along the road. Blace and Starly were out of their poke balls- Kale thought spending time together would be good for their teamwork- and they seemed to sense water nearby so the young trainer let them lead the way.

Not long after, Kale himself heard the unmistakable noise of flowing water- several steps later he saw a small river forming a pond. But his attention wasn't caught by it but by the Pokémon drinking water from the pond. The yellow feline-like Pokémon sensed them as soon as they came out of the bushes and turned back growling.

Starly's first reaction, of course, was to take battle stations and try to threaten the clearly larger foe with a funny supposed-to-be-furious expression. However, his opponent didn't look impressed. Its incredibly spiky white collar crackled with electricity and the spiky fur where its tail was supposed to be bristled even more.

"Chill out, Starly. It's probably just defending its territory or something." Kale said casually as he took out his blue Pokédex from his pocket and scanned the feline:

[B]Jolteon, the Lightning Pokémon. When angered or frightened, the hairs on Jolteon's body become like needles that are fired at its opponents. It absorbs charged atoms and can produce 10,000 volts of electricity.[/B]

"An eeveevolution!" Kale exclaimed surprised "That's definitely worth a shot. Starly, are you sure you can take on an Electric type?"

The little brown Flying type just winked after shrieking in joy and locking his narrowed eyes with his foe's. Ready to attack any second and even goading his opponent to attack making "Come and get me!" gestures with his wing, he nearly fell on the ground when someone shrieked angrily:

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" the frequency of the voice rivaled a Screech attack so it took some time for Kale to snap out if his confusion and determine where the voice was coming from.

The speaker was apparently a girl. She was standing several meters away from them with arms folded on her chest and stared at them furiously with her piercing bright blue eyes. Jolteon ran to her and jumped into her arms. As it locked its black eyes with Kale's, he noticed that the girl's two long blond spiky pigtails falling down her shoulders were quite similar to the Pokémon's fur. In fact Kale found other similarities- her black mini-skirt's yellow edges were shaped like Jolteon's collar but were symmetrical.

"Yeah, I know I have [I]awesome[/I] legs, but could you look me in the eyes when I'm talking to you? You're [I]not[/I] making the best first impression." the newcomer's arrogant voice had a trace of disgust.

Kale was taken aback by the girl's sudden conclusion. Upon hearing it his face turned red and he started waving his arms in front of him while trying to correct her:

"No, no, no! It's not like that! I just noticed your style is similar to your Pokémon's! That's all!"

"So I'm not good enough for you to check me out, huh?" the girl smirked.

While Kale somewhat justified the girl's first reaction, her last comment made his jaw drop… with his eye twitching and mind struggling to comprehend the situation, her next comment felt like a hammer hit:

"Oh, and now you're drooling over me?" the girl teased with a menacing look.

"WHAT?" the trainer closed his mouth and barked annoyed "Cool down your ego, missy, and stop jumping to the wrong conclusions! We're just passing by and looking for a place to camp!"

"Touched a nerve, did I?" the blonde lisped "And you can't camp here- the only suitable place on this side of the river is where I've set a camp."

"Then say "Hello!" to your new neighbors!" Kale said, still red in anger, and dragged along Blace and Starly, who were scratching their heads confused by the ordeal.

The girl was shocked and shouted and lisped all the way to the camp site, which Kale found quickly because of the already lit fire and the girl's bright yellow tent. When he placed his blue tent on the opposing side of the camp she finally quit shouting and instead picked up a stick and dragged a line on the ground with it:

"[I]This[/I] is my part. And [I]this[/I] is yours. Stay in yours if you know what's good for you."

Kale raised an eyebrow than smirked:

"At least I'm on the [I]sane[/I] side."

The blonde looked ready to choke him but just humphed angrily.

As the flaming disc of the sun slowly hid itself behind the tall trees, Kale and the girl prepared to dine- each at their own campfire. The boy, who had stuffed quite a lot cheeseburgers in his backpack, was now introducing Blace to the heavenly taste of unhealthy food. The Fire type adored it and with a wild look on his face munched down on it like hypnotized. As Kale was about to take his first bite, a loud "Humph!" interrupted him.

The blonde- kneeling next to her campfire and shivering in her black sleeveless top and, at least to Kale, useless black decorated vest- it wasn't even covering her midriff- was looking at Blace furiously-he did ate quite loudly. Kale noticed a big bowl between her and her Jolteon- a bowl full of salad.

"Clothes not practical for the Sinnoh climate, out of food in the middle of a forest… did you even read the brochure before coming here?" Kale laughed sarcastically- he wanted to show the girl that her menacing look didn't work on him. The blonde, miraculously managing not to shout, just smirked:

"I'm a vegetarian! Do you even think about the poor little Pokémon you're eating now?"

Kale chocked mid-bite and Blace, crazy worried about his trainer, punched him full-power in the stomach. Now doubling in pain, the young trainer just muttered:

"Next time… just pat my back, kay?"

The girl returned to enjoying her salad with a giggle. She thought that the boy's treatment was fair- suited for the arrogant hyperactive newbie she was sure he was… His kind always annoyed her- the starting trainers, thinking they were so great and dreaming they'll be Pokémon Masters some day… always thinking they were right but rushing into action without thinking.

A minute ago, when he mocked how she wasn't prepared for her journey ,the blonde barely resisted the urge to shove in his face the three badges she had earned in her home region…she knew that he would probably lose his first gym battle, most likely even forgetting about type advantages… the nerve of this brat!

Humphing again, she threw a quick look at the boy while pretending to fix one of her pigtails. The boy was lying next to his campfire, his Chimchar still eating like crazy next to him, and was browsing through his Pokédex… As the gentle wind brought some bits of the Pokédex's entries to her ([B]Starly, the Starling Pokémon. Starly normally travel in a flock, but when alone, it is hard to notice.[/B]) she turned her attention back to the Jolteon next to her:

"What is it girl? Something wrong?" the blonde's words, which would have shocked Kale if he had heard them, sounded kind and worried. The Lightning Pokémon looked nervous- her fur was crackling with electricity and her black eyes carefully monitored the trees around them…but despite that, she just shook her head at her trainer's question.

Kale, still lying on the ground with his Pokédex in hand, asked with a serious voice while stargazing through the cold dark veil of the night:

"Look… I know we started off on the wrong foot… we both acted immaturely. Let's call it a truce and stop with the pointless bickering, kay? I'm Kale by the way."

The blonde sighed inaudibly. She knew this moment would come… but that didn't help her to halt her arrogant laugh:

"Oh yeah! And we'll be traveling buddies, too, right?" she mocked but was taken aback before she could continue- Kale was looking right into her eyes without blinking, with a strange and serious look… coupling that with the flame of the campfire reflected by his glasses, the girl finally took him seriously. "I… I'm Viviane." she added uneasily.

Something about the boy was starting to bug her… maybe the fact that he wasn't trying to start a conversation all evening or the fact that the first words he said to her gently weren't "I'm going to be a Pokémon Master!"… Maybe this Kale wasn't such a goofball after all…but Viviane quickly dismissed these thoughts- he was probably just trying to impress her.

As she took out her sleeping back out of the tent- Viviane wanted to warm herself a little- she looked at the boy one last time before turning on the other side- Kale was still in his place next to the fire and was talking about something with his apparent starter.

After managing to convince Blace to stop eating- their supplies suddenly were running low after the fire monkey's dinner- Kale lay on the ground again. He could see Starly circling above them- a shadow contrasting the bright stars and partially blending with the night sky around him. The Flying type had acted nervously since they had arrived here- and his behavior was bugging Kale.

The boy threw a look at his Chimchar- he was now peacefully asleep next to him, not looking nervous at all. But keeping in mind that due to his starter not being raised in the wild, and his relative inexperience, Blace didn't have senses as good as Starly's, and on top of that Viviane's Jolteon also looked on its guard… Suddenly noticing how unusually quiet the forest was, Kale decided to risk and asked his new acquaintance:

"Don't you think that the forest is too quiet tonight?"

Viviane couldn't believe Kale had disrupted her blissful sleep, just to bubble romantic nonsense. With a grunt of annoyance she lisped:

"Don't think you can get to me with that mushy stuff!"

Suppressing his strong desire to bark at her again, Kale just shook his head:

"I'm serious. There are usually tons of Pokémon out at night singing or talking, or something. Besides, Starly and Jolteon [I]both[/I] look nervous and on guard."

Viviane, cursing the boy that he had noticed something that she had apparently dismissed as unimportant, and furious that he was right again, decided to mock him despite making a mental note to be on her guard:

"Humph, you're just sca…" her arrogant response was cut off by a loud rumble and she exclaimed nervously "What was that?"

Kale, now on his feet and the now awake Blace battle-ready next to him, just muttered:

"It sounded like thunder…but it was coming from benea…"

Suddenly, with a deafening roar, an extremely long snake-like Pokémon emerged beneath Viviane's tent and tossed it aside. The Pokémon, whose body was composed of numerous round rock chunks, looked around, his dark eyes restlessly looking for an opponent.

The horned Pokémon's face, visible under the dim dancing lights of the campfire, was scarred- a deep cut started above one of its eyes and ended below it. The rock snake was about to attack, and Jolteon and Blace looked ready to take him on, but Starly was the quickest of them all. With one swift dive, air swirling around him, he rocketed into his gigantic foe's face. The force of the impact and the surprise attack stunned it for a second, and as Starly, Aerial Ace after another, kept the Pokémon busy by jolting around his head, Kale quickly scanned the apparent Rock type:

[B]Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon. It tunnels through the ground which shakes when it raises its thunderous roar. It can move the ground at fifty miles per hour.[/B]

Viviane, until now looking shocked at the direction where her tent flew before falling in the river and getting carried away, finally snapped out and with a red face and boiling anger, ordered Jolteon to use Pin Missile as she looked for her other poke balls in her backpack, which- gladly- wasn't in the tent.

With a hand still in her bag searching for her poke balls, Viviane froze when she saw Kale: he looked petrified, still clenching the Pokédex and his hazel eyes jolted from the Onix, to his Pokémon, to the river… Noticing this she smirked… it seemed he was just an inexperienced newbie, and a scaredy-cat on top of that, after all… with a smug smile on her face, Viviane was about to tease him that a girl was going to save him, when Kale suddenly shouted confidently, taking her aback:

"Starly, attack mainly from the left! Push him to the river! Blace, jump in the campfire and absorb the flames like this morning! Ember to keep Onix busy! Viviane, order Jolteon to keep up her Pin Missile and try pushing Onix to the river, too."

As Viviane tried to comprehend the sudden change in Kale, she reluctantly agreed with him and ordered Jolteon to do as he had said… the girl's bright blue eyes were filled with surprise as she saw how the boy, whom she had thought for an easily-scared goofball moments before, was now confidently shouting commands and his plan was actually working.

The Onix, unable to catch the fast moving Starly, nor to defend itself from the barrage of white glowing rocket-like needles, was forced to, slowly but surely, retreat towards the river and his every attempt to retaliate was cut short by the barrage of blazing embers coming from Blace, now standing in the remains of the campfire, his tail flame augmented to a size double its usual.

However, the Rock type, seeing the terrifying for it water nearby, started swinging its glowing tail around blinded by its rage and fear. Viviane had just thought that it would surely hit someone when Kale surprised her by shouting again:

"Good job, Starly! Now Whirlwind on the water surface!"

The Starling Pokémon, thrilled by the battle with this mighty foe, quickly obeyed and soon was just above the water, facing the Onix. Swiftly flapping his wings, he summoned surprisingly strong gusts of wind, which, to Viviane surprise, picked up water with them and splashed one after another into the Rock type, making it cringe in pain. The girl, deaf to the rumble around her, couldn't help but be amazed…despite the annoyance that boy turned out to be not the common hyperactive goofball… Did he push the Onix to the river on purpose, just to attack him with this combo? Or did he improvise in the thick of battle? These thoughts occupied her mind when Kale's shouts brought her back to reality:

"Viviane? Come on! Tell her to use Thunderbolt or something!"

"What? Why? He is [I]resistant[/I] to Electric attacks, dumbie!"

"Yes! But not when he is soaked! Now hurry up, Starly can't keep this up forever!" he barked annoyed.

At loss of words again, Viviane just ordered the Thunderbolt, and watched as the mighty sparkling lightning struck Onix. The Rock Snake Pokémon doubled in pain as the electricity illuminated its body… Viviane saw how Kale picked up a poke ball from his belt… then with one last desperate push, the Onix let a roar so mighty, that the sound waves caused by the frequency shoved back the Pokémon around it. With Starly trying to brake free from the river current and Jolteon and Blace shoved into the bushes, Onix decided to find a new victim and let out his rage- and rushed towards Viviane who was the closest to him…

The girl, even her fiery attitude succumbing to fear in this moment, couldn't even move a muscle, couldn't even shout…

Kale, feeling powerless without his Pokémon, was petrified, his mind finally failing to come up with an idea… the thought of rushing in and pushing Viviane out of the way sparkled in his mind… but the scars on his back lisped to leave her, reminding him of the last time he took the hit to protect someone… and this time, Onix's rage would have made it fatal… Kale wanted to look away, he hated himself for not rushing to save her… but the fear of being imprisoned in the dark ocean again… to be nothing…to die… stopped his body from doing anything…

He remembered how he had shouted at Lucas, accusing him of being a quitter, of being indecisive… And now, when he had to make the terrible decision, he was sick of himself… and hating everything about him, hating that he was so stupid to do this… he took a step forward.

Step after step, as he ran towards Viviane, the sickening thought that he would never make it in time tore him apart from within… he had taken too long to decide… the Onix was mere meters away from her now… the Rock type let out a mighty roar blending with Viviane's and Kale's shouts…

And then, when everything looked over, another shout blended with the others:

"Turtwig, Razor Leaf!"

With a battle cry the green-and-yellow turtle-like Pokémon jumped out of the bushes, unleashing a barrage of razor sharp leaves. The leaf whirlwind hit the Rock Snake Pokémon in the head, pushing it away from Viviane in the last moment. Then, a small sphere flew out of the bushes behind Turtwig, bounced off the Onix and converted the Rock type into white energy before engulfing it.

The poke ball fell on the ground, its button glowing red, and just as Turtwig's trainer picked it up, it confirmed the capture.

"What a mess! You must be glad I was nearby guys." Nigel smirked tossing the poke ball in his hand.

"T-thanks. You… really helped us out." Kale, while being thankful that the redhead had saved Viviane, couldn't bear to look him in the eyes and say an outright "Thank you."

"Don't bother! I wouldn't have missed a capture like that for a million bucks." the redhead smirked again.

"Y-you did it for the capture? What, did you wait nearby and waited to strike when we had weakened it?" Kale's voice trembled angrily "A human life was at stake and you say you did it for the CAPTURE!"

"Chill out, I didn't let it squash her, right?" Nigel laughed with a smug smile "Don't worry, I'll let you be the save-damsels-in-distress guy, I'm not into heroism."

Viviane who, until now, quietly stood in her place and listened to the conversation, at loss of words because of the shock, quickly regained her old attitude upon hearing someone saying she was a damsel in distress:

"Listen, mister, I don't know who you are, but I want you to know that I don't need anyone saving me! I carry my own weight and I'll squash [I]you[/I], if you say something like this again!" she exclaimed as she leant towards Nigel with burning fire in her eyes.

"Riiiight." Nigel raised an eyebrow then recalled Turtwig, turned back and headed down the stream, but not before waving a mocking goodbye and shouting back "Don't get yourselves killed while I'm not looking, kay?"

"The nerve of that guy!" Viviane lisped before looking around and shrieking "My tent! I forgot the Onix squashed it! I'll freeze to death with only my sleeping bag!"

Kale, who was used to his homeland's temperatures, and, on top of that, was planning on sleeping under the night sky if it didn't rain, suggested sleepily:

"Well, you can sleep in my tent, 'cause I'm going to…" but he was cut off by Viviane shrieking "You perv!" and slapping him in the face with the force of a Rhyperior.

Dizzy because of the hit, with a red mark on his face, he just muttered the end of the sentence:

"…sleep outside."

"Oh!" the girl giggled nervously "Sorry then…and thanks."

As she moved her sleeping bag in his tent, Kale placed his next to a tree and turned his attention to his Pokémon, now in front of him. As the slightly wet Starly moved on his shoulder, he picked up Blace in his hands, and stargazing before falling asleep, he muttered ashamed:

"I hesitated, guys…I hesitated."

[B]TBC[/B]


	5. Jed

**_Chapter 5:_**

**_Jed_**

The shadows of the lazy pearl-white clouds slowly engulfed the forest. Protected by their cool shade from the scorching sun, so unnatural for this normally cold region, a young trainer was kneeling at the edge of the crystal lake. His tired blue eyes were gazing lazily at the reflections of the fluffy clouds above him.

Standing up with a deep sigh, Lucas grabbed one of the smooth rocks next to him and threw it at the lake with a furious shout.

"Why am I not good _enough_?!"

In a flash of white light, a blue penguin like Pokémon suddenly appeared. Concerned by his trainer's yelling, Piplup tried to comfort Lucas, squeaking in his own language. The boy didn't seem to notice him until Piplup pecked him slightly. Finally snapping out of his grim thoughts, Lucas grunted, confused but angry:

"What do you want?"

Piplup stared at his trainer for some time before asking with a serious and concerned look on his face:

"Pip-luup? Piplup-pip?" asked the concerned Water type.

"I'm _not_ confused, Piplup," Lucas replied with a weary sigh.

But deep inside, the boy knew he was lying only to himself. In truth, he had no idea what to do from now on. After his shameful breakdown because of the humiliating loss the day before, Lucas had run to his room immediately after Kale had stormed out. Not wanting to be humiliated even more in front of the professor- and certainly not wanting his advice- Lucas had quickly packed his things and headed out.

The note he left to his parents said he had decided to go on his journey with some friends he had met recently. The boy knew his parents would learn the truth from Rowan. Not that he cared, though. Lucas just wanted to do something- anything- just to calm the raging storm of doubt that had engulfed him.

"I'm feeling sorry for every Pokémon you'll capture!"… Nigel's words haunted him ever since the previous afternoon. They haunted him as he walked- or ran- for hours, constantly turning back and returning to the town before resuming his senseless wandering again. Eventually, as the last rays of the setting sun bid their farewell to the ruby-colored waters, Lucas ended up at the shore of Lake Verity.

He spent the night there, not even lighting a campfire, just lying under the closest to the lake tree. When the young trainer waked up in the morning he felt exhausted, drained. He stood in one place for hours, his weary eyes searching, waiting for an answer to surface from the mysterious depths of the lake.

But Lake Verity didn't answer. And as the first sun-beams reached him, the question still haunted Lucas: why couldn't he win?

Lucas had always prided himself for being a good battler. But now, when he looked back to the days at the Trainers' School, his achievements seemed so small and distant. Indeed, Lucas had always been better at theory, but he had won quite a few battles against tough opponents.

Once again blind for everything else in the world except the dancing lights of the lake, Lucas reached the terrifying conclusion that he was good…but not good enough. All of his wins at the Trainers' School he had accomplished by hard work, by relentless studying and training with the Pokémon given to him.

But to those whom he had faced or would face in battle- both Nigel and Kale- these things came natural to them. The skills he had learnt after months of studying and training, they learnt in the matter of weeks… without hard training and studying…without discipline. The realization they didn't have to train or work hard and still be better than him, broke him completely.

"Pip-pip-pip! Piplup!"

The concerned squeaking of his starter once again shoved him back in the real world. The Penguin Pokémon was jumping around Lucas, desperately trying to get his attention again. Tired of everything around him, hating every single bit of the cruel world that favored some prodigy slackers, he angrily grunted again: "Leave me alone, Piplup!"

However, his starter didn't pay attention to him and, still concerned about his trainer's well being, grabbed hold of his vest's short sleeve and started pulling it. Lucas, drowning in the grim thoughts that crawled in his mind, violently pushed Piplup onto the ground. "I told you to leave me _alone_!" the boy bellowed.

His little blue starter landed on the tall fresh grass with a thud. Still lying on the ground, the Water type looked at Lucas with sadness in his black eyes, miniature shining tears forming in them. Then, with an expression that showed how betrayed he felt, Piplup turned his back on Lucas.

The young boy was taken aback for a second. Getting even angrier that his own Pokémon was against him, Lucas turned his own back to Piplup. Time passed slowly as the duo stood back to back, neither one of them breaking the silence. As the minutes passed, Lucas felt how his anger was leaving him. The boy's rage was slowly replaced by disgust. He was disgusted of himself, disgusted of how he had treated the friend who had saved his life the other day.

Like harbingers of justice and revenge, the scars on his back now felt like rivers of molten lava, sending shivers through his body, as if to remind him that Piplup had saved him from far more greater-from eternal- pain. The boy's red beret fell from its place as Lucas, ready to give everything just to take his hit back, crawled to Piplup on all fours.

With streams of shameful tears falling down his sides, Lucas kneeled in front of Piplup's back and cried, still sobbing. "I'm sorry, Piplup…I'm so sorry. I... I don't deserve you."

Hearing his trainer's trembling voice, the Penguin Pokémon slowly turned his head around and looked at the boy. Lucas didn't even dare to look his starter in the eyes. Wiping the tears from his eyes with a wing, Piplup jumped in Lucas' arms shrieking happily.

Lucas, in disbelief how quickly Piplup had forgiven him, was taken aback for a few seconds before returning his friend's warm hug. Still sobbing, the boy muttered:

"I'm sorry, buddy! "the boy cried still sobbing. Eventually, he gave a nervous laugh. "Guess Nigel was right when he said he felt sorry for you."

Deep in thought again, Lucas picked up Piplup and placed him on his lap. The boy's dark eyes began wandering around the surface again when he heard something from across the lake. On the opposite shore three small red salamander-like Pokémon were breathing fire at something. At first, Lucas thought they were attacking someone but soon he realized they were taking turns practicing their Fire Spin attacks on a big rock.

Only one Pokémon from this strange trio had problems with it. While his friends managed to breathe stable tornado-like streams of fire, the flames coming out of his flat beak were weak and quickly dispersed without even taking the form of a spiral. The other two laughed at their fellow Fire Type and walked away, leaving him alone near the grey rock, with an ashamed expression on his face. Lucas continued watching with interest… and pity. As the little Fire Type continued his bitter training, failing again and again, the young blue-haired trainer mumbled:

"I know how he feels," Piplup looked at him confusedly and the boy continued "He's fallen behind those other two. Even if he manages to learn the attack one day, they would have already learned a more powerful one. No matter how hard he tries, he'll be several steps behind. They won't stop training to wait, y'know."

Piplup had some strange feeling that his trainer's last comment wasn't about the Fire Type… For a second, he feared his partner would snap again, but the boy just took out his yellow Pokédex and browsed through the entries. The device artificial voice soon announced:

_Magby, the Live Coal Pokémon. Magby is the pre-evolved form of Magmar. Despite its small size, it is a tough opponent and produces and extremely hot flame._

Reverting his attention back to Magby's relentless training, Lucas muffled something sounding like "futile". The Live Coal Pokémon was looking more desperate by the minute. His flames were getting weaker and weaker and, as the little Fire type tried for the umpteenth time, he breathed out only several embers which quickly withered out before even reaching the rock.

Magby looked devastated. Succumbing to tiredness, he fell on the ground breathing heavily. A bitter smile made its way on Lucas face…the boy was about to look away when the Fire type's angry cry reached him. Magby jumped on his feet and taking a deep breath, putting all of his anger, hope and strength in this last try, exhaled. The spiraling flames, heating the stifling air around him even more, collided with the grey rock. And as Lucas stared at them amazed, they grew in size- a perfect harmony of red and yellow, a devastating tornado engulfing the stone before finally exploding in thousands of blazing embers.

And as the last of the flames withered slowly before the boy's widened eyes…the answer finally came. With a genuine but serious smile Lucas moved his starter on the ground and stood up. After the boy beat the dust out of his blue jeans and picked up his beret, he kneeled in front of Piplup and outstretched his arm:

"I can't promise you much. Maybe we'll get beat again. Maybe not. But let me tell you one thing, Piplup: I promise to never, ever let you down again. From now on we'll train 'till we drop. And when we face someone again- be it a prodigy or not- we'll give them the battle of their lives…Deal?"

The boy was amused by the sudden sparkle in Piplup black eyes. When the Penguin Pokémon clapped his hand with his flipper, Lucas' confident voice rang in the air:

"Now let's give this new fire-breathing friend of ours a visit, shall we?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Not so far away, another duo was having a hearty "conversation". The girl played with her spiky pigtails as she shouted. "Stop stalking me!"

The blonde's arrogant voice easily made its way through the stifling forest air. The words echoed for a second before Kale's answer shoved them aside in the depths of the green woods:

"For Pete's sake! I'm not stalking you, I'm following the same road, Viviane!"

"Maybe." the girl gave a loud "humph" without even looking at the black-haired boy, who was several meters behind her "And how do you justify sneaking in my tent this morning?" she said as she smoothed her black edgy mini-skirt.

"First of all, it's _my_ tent." Kale said annoyed as he suddenly stopped in his tracks- the little fire monkey on his shoulder almost fell. The boy's voice got angrier with each word "I shouted several times but you apparently didn't hear. And when I went into the tent I just tapped your shoulder to wake you up! Did you wake up as a normal person? No! The next thing I knew was you attacking me with pepper spray and kicking me out."

Viviane continued walking along the forest road and just exclaimed with a smug smile.

"Then why didn't I hear you shouting? Huh, perv?"

Kale's face turned red and he was about to let his rage with one good and healthy shout. But instead of this, the boy just said under his breath.

"Maybe because you snore louder than my cousin."

"Did you just say something?" Viviane finally turned around, an angry expression pasted on her face. Kale used this to catch up with her and mumbled.

"Nothing, nothing. I was just telling Blace how unusually hot the weather is today."

The Chimchar was extremely surprised when he heard about the "conversation". His shocked expression and confused head-scratching seemed suspicious and Kale whispered annoyed.

"Just play along, will you?"

Blace finally managed to sum up two plus two and started nodding excitedly. The boy slapped his head, stunned by the silliness of his partner. This argument was the only time Kale had talked with his new acquaintance since last night. The boy had hoped Viviane would have mellowed at least a bit but her cocky attitude was still the same. After the duo had walked for about an hour in complete silence, Kale tried a bold move…to start a polite conversation.

"So…where did you say you're from?"

"I didn't. What, you want to stalk me even at home?" the black-and-yellow clad girl glared furiously at Kale. However, the young trainer met her piercing blue eyes without flinching.

"Sheesh, I'm just asking. What's so wrong with a little chat?"

Viviane kept staring at him but her spooky treatment didn't work on him. She gave up and answered:

"I'm from the Orange Islands. Are you native to Sinnoh?"

"Yup!" Kale smiled, happy he was having a normal talk with her "One proud Sinnoh citizen… so, are you challenging gyms too?"

The girl pretended she was smoothing her black spiky miniskirt to kill some time. After a moment of hesitation Viviane sighed:

"I used to. I'm competing in contests now."

"Well, that's great! Have fun winning the Grand Festival then!" Kale laughed encouragingly and patted her back slightly. The realization Viviane would probably smack him for this came one second too late and Kale braced for the impact. To his surprise, the girl didn't do anything.

Once again, Viviane was taken aback by the trainer's reaction. She was expecting some comment how she couldn't handle the pressure. But instead of mocking her choice, the boy had encouraged her, even praised her for the choice… As the girl sped up down the hill, Kale could have sworn he had seen a smile on her face.

"Thanks…I appreciate this." Kale never even heard the surprisingly calm whisper.

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"Only one room!" Viviane's shout echoed in the white-and-blue entrance hall of the Pokémon center. Not caring for the annoyed murmur of the crowd around her, Viviane continued pleading:

"Please, Nurse Joy! There must be another free room!"

"I'm sorry. There have been a lot of trainers staying here lately because of the contest that will take place in Jubilife soon. You'll have to share the room. Is anything wrong with that?" the young pink-haired woman behind the counter asked worriedly. Kale didn't like the judging look she gave him and decided to defend himself:

"Oh, don't worry, Nurse Joy. I'm sure she just doesn't like to share her room alone with a complete stranger. Rest assured, she wouldn't even notice I'm there!" as his finished the sentence, both Kale and Blace flashed innocent smiles. Viviane was about to interfere but to her surprise- and Kale's actually- the nurse smiled back:

"Oh, you're such a gentleman! You're room is the last down the right corridor."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy. I… We'll be on our way now," Kale said quickly and grabbed the stunned Viviane's arm. As he pulled the girl to remind her they had to go, the blonde broke his grip. But she pulled too strong and ended bumping some passing by kid with her arm.

The young boy was carrying some hot tea which, unfortunately, ended on Viviane's black short sleeveless vest. Kale could feel the heat emanating from her. The blonde's red face looked ready to pop and the little boy shrunk even more in fear. Blace, scared by the sudden transformation of the girl, hid behind Kale. Viviane slowly raised her shaking fist. Still trembling, she was about to unleash her unearthly rage on the kid. Kale felt it was time for desperate measures and grabbed Viviane with one hand-this time tightly- and muffled her with the other.

The battle cry he stopped would have shattered every window in the Center for sure. The startled trainer quickly ran down the corridor. Blace was barely hanging on his shoulder when Kale stopped in front of their room. After taking a quick look around, the boy decided it was save enough to let the coordinator. Kale regretted the moment he did this:

"WHY DID Y…" with one swift movement he muffled her again and said, begging:

"Be quiet, I beg you! You're making a scene!"

After some futile struggling, Viviane caved in and Kale slowly removed his hand from her mouth. As she took a deep breath, the girl asked angrily:

"Why did you stop me from teaching that punk a lesson, _Mr. Gentleman_?"

Once again, Kale was amazed by her temper:

"Punk? You were the one that spilled the tea! And most importantly, Viviane, you looked like you were ready to vivisect a _seven year old_!"

After letting her trademark "humph" the girl opened to door and went into the room. Kale was about to follow her when she shut the door under his nose with a loud _bang_. Surprised his glasses were still intact, the boy picked up Blace- this time he had really fallen off of him- and asked angrily.

"What was that for? I'm in the same room, y'know!"

"Cool down, I know. I just have to change. I want be long." Viviane's voice announced calmly behind the mahogany door.

"But you have a top under your vest! Why keep me outside?"

The door opened slightly and Kale thought she had come to reason…he was wrong. Viviane just took a peak outside and shouted before shutting the door again:

"Peek and I'll slit your throat!"

Kale gulped nervously and decided to wait- she had said she wouldn't be long after all… He and Blace headed down the long corridor, back to Nurse Joy. Kale had to register for the Sinnoh League, after all. After doing this and picking a nice badge case- blue with a yellow poke ball symbol- he took a seat on one of the comfortable green couches in the lobby.

The young trainer had a few conversations with other guys who were going to challenge the Oreburgh Gym… and then read a few trainer magazines…Oh, let's just skip forward shall we?

Four cheeseburgers, six trainer magazines, five battles, a call home, an hour-long nap on one of the couches and thirty-seven games of rock-paper-scissors with Blace later…

"Come on, Viviane! Open up already!" the boy's words echoed in the blue-colored corridor. His banging on the mahogany door apparently had annoyed the other residents of the Center because he could hear their muffled voices shouting "Shut up!" Kale looked at Blace awaiting and the little fire monkey nodded.

The boy grabbed the black metal handle and pushed it carefully… but the door stayed closed. Kale tried again and again, getting angrier with every try. Realizing Viviane had the key and apparently had locked the door, Kale cursed himself he was dumb enough to let her in without taking the key. His frustration was reaching its peak and with one muffled shout, the boy kicked the door.

The blinding pain in his right thumb that followed left him jumping on one foot in the corridor. As Kale was cursing himself for being even dumber, Blace tried not to fall off his shoulder.

"Ole' McPsyduck had a Miltank, HoothootHoothootHoooooot…" the ridiculous singing male voice was the last thing Kale needed. As he tried to find out where the song was coming from he stumbled and, still holding his hurt leg with two hands, fell backwards hitting his head on the cold wall.

"Whoa, that's some lump, buddy! Ya sure you're okay?" it took some time for Kale to comprehend the words. After several seconds he realized the singer was know kneeling next to him, holding Kale's hurting head.

Still squinting his eyes because of the pain, the young trainer couldn't get a good look at the newcomer. The strange voice he heard next made things even more confusing:

_"Yay! Some dump, muddy! Some dump, muddy!"_

As Kale groaned, something climbed on the head of the newcomer. A few seconds later Kale recognized his own Chimchar, who was now waving his hand in front of him. The second voice seemed to come from something next to Blace. It was bird-like and the strangest of all, its black head looked like an eight note.

"Come now, Chatot, we gotta get this pal to a bed. He seems to be in the same room as us." as he said that, the teen stood up and tossed something shiny in his hand. He had a key. Kale could see and think more clearly now and realized what this guy was about to do: he was going to enter Viviane's room.

"I wouldn't do that if I wer…" but Kale couldn't finish his warning. The teen had already turned the key and walked in. Bracing for what was about to happen, Blace and his trainer closed their eyes and covered their ears.

The banshee-like cry that followed blended with Viviane's furious shouts:

"IT BUUUURNS! IT BUUURNS! MY EYES!"

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM YOU SICK PERVERT!"

One after another, heavy doors opened with a [I]bang[/I] and the residents of the Center peeked carefully from their rooms, scared of what was taking place in the building. Some of the braver- or stupider- ones came running to the Viviane's room, guessing correctly where the rucuswas taking place.

Two of the older boys were just about to enter when a something flew out shrieking desperately:

_"Yay! She's killin' him! She's killin' him! Yay!"_

Hearing this, the boys stared the blue, green and yellow blur circling above them. However, their hesitation was cut short- someone was shoved out of the room and knocked down one of the "investigators".

The teen, who had sung mere minutes before, was now squirming on the cold white floor. He continued shouting as Kale and the other boys tried to restrain him:

"I'M MELTIIING! I'M MELTIIING" the teen shot open his eyes and to everybody's shock, licked his lips-his whole face was sprayed- before exclaiming " Mmm… tastes like pepperoni… VOODOO!"

As some other teens carried the unfortunate newcomer to Nurse Joy, Kale threw a shocked look at Blace before exclaiming.

"Oh my! Viviane's brain damaged him!"

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The two shady figures listened to the gossiping crowd with increasing interest. The rumor one of the guests at the Center was beaten badly just for entering his own room by some crazy girl was quickly passed from one person to another. The first of the figures unzipped his brown trench coat a bit- the heat was bugging him- and whispered to the young man next to him:

"So, what did you find out, Draco?"

Draco, who was also wearing a trench coat, quickly started talking:

"Well, this random guy unlocks his room while singing the 148th Sinnoh symphony. Then this crazy girl who was hiding behind the door attacks him with a flamethrower, thus burning the pepperoni he was eating. And then she beats him with a mall…" Draco couldn't finish. The person he was talking to had whacked the back of his head before lisping:

"Not about the accident, dolt! What did you find out about the poke ball storage?"

"Geez, Vlad! Only 'cause you're four minutes older doesn't mean you can boss me around." Draco noticed the stern look his brother gave him and cleared his throat "They store the poke balls in a storage room. The only entry is down the staff corridor behind the counter. Steel walls. We can't bust in unnoticed."

The older twin, Vlad, thought for a second. Then he started waving himself with a magazine and whispered:

"Kay, lil' bro…. Listen how we'll do it: most of the guys here had left their Pokémon for treatment. That means more for us waiting in the storage room. But there are trainers who still have one or two Pokémon with them. So, we'll take the Nurse hostage and we'll make her open the storage door."

"Yeah! Oh oh oh… and while we're holding her hostage we'll tie all of the trainers." Draco inadvertently highered his voice and some of the people around looked at him confusedly. His brother once again whacked him annoyed:

"You crazy or somethin'? They'll hear us! Now let's get going. Follow my lead!"

As he said that Vlad stood up and headed to the counter leaving Draco behind him, mocking his big brother. The Nurse averted her attention to the approaching man and was about to greet him when Vlad jumped over her desk. Joy didn't even have time to scream as the man grabbed her hand and stuffed her mouth.

"Listen up, you fools! I hereby declare this Pokémon Center for Team Galactic property…Uhm...I mean I declare all the Pokémon here for Team Galactic property!" Vlad's voice echoed in the lobby. "And don't do anything funny. Or pinky-locks here goes bye-bye. Adios! Sayonara! Get it?"

A mere moment before the building was full of young people, sharing their experiences and discussing Pokémon. Now everyone stood silent, each and every one of them asking themselves if this was some stupid joke.

"And this goes double for you, pink blob!" the man violently twisted the nurse's wrist when he noticed the Chansey that was approaching him silently. That display quickly cleared the confusion. The cold sterile walls of the lobby now resonated with fear.

"My henchman here will now confiscate any Pokémon you currently have and will tie you." Vlad announced with a smug smile "Then we'll confiscate all the Pokémon in storage and leave. Nobody will get hurt if you do as we say."

As he finished his speech the grunt tossed away his trench coat, revealing the grey and white uniform with an embossed golden "G" underneath. Draco, who had also revealed himself, was now wandering through the scared crowd, tying people and collecting poke balls.

"Henchman! Humph! Like he isn't a grunt like me! Stupid twin brother!" as Draco mumbled this and kneeled to tie the little boy Viviane was about to beat up not long before, Kale came up with a plan. Waiting for the grunt to lower his cyan-haired head again, he quickly recalled Blace. It was pure luck he was sitting on one of the coaches with Viviane. If he was standing up they would have surely seen the Chimp Pokémon on his shoulder.

Viviane threw a concerned look at him as Kale whispered to the poke ball:

"Find the guy we met earlier. You won't have much time because they'll probably check the rooms next. He's in our room."

So far, so good. Now the hard part was how to roll the poke ball to the other end of the lobby. They'd have surely heard it in this cold silence so, he needed a diversion. He looked at Viviane again. Her usual arrogant expression was gone. Now she seemed more human and her bright blue eyes were full of anxiety. And as his thoughts drifted to the dire situation last night, Kale figured out what to do.

Now it was Viviane's turn to be tied. Draco had just bent forward with a rope in his hands. With a sudden shout, Kale jumped between her and the grunt, as if to protect her. The man was taken aback for a second but quickly pinned the boy to the ground. Not before Kale had managed to roll Blace's poke ball across while pretending to hold the Galactic's leg, though.

"Stupid heroic brats!" Draco continued to murmur as he tied the lying on the ground boy.

"Stupid, eh? Guess you bought the stupid hero protection act. Congrats." Kale thought with a smug smile on his face. The boy hoped his trusty starter would manage to get help.

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Blace looked around in panic. After popping out of his poke ball and heading to his trainer's room, the Chimp Pokémon quickly melted the lock. As he entered the orange-colored room, the sun-beams blinded him. The wide-opened window was just in front of Blace. Squinting, the little Fire type quickly caught sight of the teen he was looking for.

The boy was lying on the right bed. Drooling slightly, he didn't notice the starter hopping on him. Blace was panicking and was about to burn the boy to wake him up. The bad guys were probably coming right now, he thought. A funny voice behind him made the Pokémon jump in fear he was late. It took some time for Blace to realize it was just the teen's Chatot that had just flown in the room. The Music Note Pokémon moved aside his younger fellow and placed something on his trainer's orange-and-red jacket. Not even a minute later, the teen's eyes shot open and he shouted:

"Potatoes!"

His cry was muffled by the two Pokémon, who had covered his mouth just in time. Under the teen's confused look, Blace started shrieking panicky. His worried words were roughly translated by Chatot:

_"Yay! Two idiots take hostages! Two idiots steal Pokémon! Jed needed! Yay!"_

Blace was astounded how his speech was translated in three short sentences by the Flying type. He was even more astounded this Jed understood Chatot. Jed picked up a few French fries and quickly ate them as he put on his trademark lemon-colored beanie. The hat covered his whole forehead and left only two long strains of dirty auburn hair visible.

Still munching French fries, Jed picked up his enormous bright green backpack.

"Rest assured, little buddy! Jed's on his way!" he mumbled to Blace as he opened it.

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Draco was now standing on the Nurse's desk. His dark blue eyes wandered from one person to another, waiting for the slightest sign of disobedience. The sign he stumbled upon was a whole billboard of disobedience: Jed had just entered the lobby. Even his usual attire was kind of strange- especially his green jeans, fully covered with numerous colorful stickers and patches.

The boy was now sporting two metal gauntlets, a brown cowboy hat, a black eye patch and… a broom. Draco's- and everybody else's- jaw dropped. Viviane whispered in shock:

"Man, I must've hit him harder than I thought."

Her whisper was followed by many others:

"That's the guy who's gonna save us?! We're doomed!"

"Did he rob a dump or something?"

"You've got to be kidding me… right?"

"Listen, dork! You and your friend better get out of here before I kick you out!" Jed's confident voice shoved aside the surprised whispers. But In turn, it was drowned in Draco's laughter:

"And what will you do? Make us laugh 'till we drop?"

Surprisingly, Jed laughed with him. The boy raised his metal-clad hand… and snapped his fingers three times. The metallic sound echoed and everybody froze. Jed's voice soon rose again:

"It's… partlivin' time!"

The next things that followed were just one big blur. With surprising speed, Jed let out a battle cry and dashed towards Draco. Still staring in shock, the grunt lost several seconds before tossing his red-and-white poke ball:

"Go, Seviper! Wrap!"

The dark green snake-like Pokémon that emerged from the sphere immediately jolted towards Jed. Its crimson red eyes locked with the boy's grey ones. But just as Seviper was about to maneuver and bind Jed, he shouted with comically gruff voice:

"Well, I'll be! I've jus' found skin for mah new wallet! Chatot, Feather Dance, lad!"

Everybody watched in awe as the teen jumped away and something colorful jolted from behind him- Chatot. Seviper stopped in its tracks. The serpentine Pokémon wasn't scared by the much smaller foe. It was the pink flower necklace and the grass skirt Chatot wore that shocked the ferocious Seviper.

Yellow aura surrounded the Music Note Pokémon as he started dancing around. Surprisingly, the Feather Dance attack really looked like a hula dance! Seviper narrowed eyes and, slightly mimicking the movements, fell on the ground exhausted.

"Char! Chimchar-char!"

Kale, his attention fully averted at the battle, hadn't noticed Blace who had crawled to him and had untied him and Viviane. The boy and the coordinator quickly started untying the others but Jed caught their attention again.

With one more stunning shriek, he jumped off of one of the couches. Still shouting and in mid-air, time stopped in its tracks as the broom made contact with Drake's head and shattered in two. Something cyan-colored landed on the white floor-Draco's "hair".

"What did you do to my brother?" Vlad's angry exclamation brought Kale back to reality. The grunt had just shut the steel storage door behind him. He held Joy with one hand and a big bag with the other. Vlad stared at his brother, lying on the floor and holding his head in pain. His natural blond hair with a funny upwards fringe on the left side was now visible. Vlad shoved Joy aside and pulled out a poke ball. Surprisingly he didn't even toss it but a Pokémon emerged from it.

A large white feline-like Pokémon with red markings appeared. Surprisingly, it didn't head towards Chatot or Jed but towards Seviper, who had just shrugged off the Feather Dance. Seviper quickly retaliated and soon the two Pokémon were on the floor. Fang and claw met with ferocity as Draco grabbed the remains of the broom and started whacking Vlad's head:

_"Your! Stupid! Zangoose! Is! Ruining! Everything!"_ every word was a successful hit. Irritated, Vlad restrained his brother and shouted:

"Zangoose! The Chimchar! Get the Chimchar!"

Kale gasped. He had hoped to surprise them but Blace was spotted. The Chimp Pokémon was among the crowd so he couldn't use Flamewheel or Ember. Fighting claw against claw with Zangoose wasn't an option either. Once again, Jed was the savior. Reverting back to his normal voice, the teen shouted panicky:

"Munchlax! These guys here are stealing your food!"

Zangoose was mid-air, right above Blace, and his claws were glowing white. The Chimchar was stuck, with no time for a Dig and no space for a Fire type attack. Jed's shout was still echoing in the crowded lobby…when the steel storage door exploded outwards. Something teal-colored rocketed out, shoving Vlad and Draco out of its way. The Pokémon rolled up and with blinding speed jolted towards Zangoose. The feline didn't even realize what had hit him-he was rocketed in the wall, cracking it. A dozen voices shouted in unison:

"What was that?!"

The round bipedal Normal type stared at the unconscious feline with raging fire in its big round eyes. And just as suddenly as it had appeared, the baby Pokémon turned around and ran towards the kitchen. Jed was about to say something, a mischievous smile on his face, when Kale saw Seviper behind him. The serpent-like Pokémon had raised its red pike-like tail above the teen's head. The tail glowed purple when Kale shouted on reflex.

"Starly! This Pokémon here thinks we're cowards!"

The brown Flying type jolted out from the bag next to Vlad, air swirling around him. Seviper had just swung its glowing tail when the bird rammed in it, sending the serpentine flying. As Seviper fell unconscious on the ground, Vlad and Draco gasped in fear at the angry mob surrounding them…

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The sun was still shining brightly above the small Pokémon Center. The excited crowd bathed in its gentle beams, discussing the dire situation they were in less then an hour before. The police had just driven away with the two unlucky Galactic grunts. Two similar artificial voices could be heard from one of the corners of the Center's yard:

_Munchlax, the Big Eater Pokémon. It gobbles up its own body weight in food each day, and it swallows its food without almost any chewing._

_Chatot, the Music Note Pokémon. It hears words and then mimics them._

"I'm Jed! Guys, am I glad to know 'ya! I like the color rainbow and I love potatoes! I believe in werepsyduck and my least favorite food is oranges. I'm nearly fourteen years old and…"

Kale stared in shock at Jed's outstretched arm as the teen continued bubbling stupid things about himself. He must have dozed off because Jed suddenly exclaimed.

"What, you don't want to be friends? Oh, okay th…"

Kale felt bad for the teen. Apparently he was easily offended and didn't seem to have many friends. At least his disappointed reaction implied this. The younger trainer hastily waved his hands in front of himself and replied:

"No, no, Jed! Of course we'll be friends. I'm just… tired and sleepy!"

"That's great! We'll make potato sandwiches together! Uh…where are we going anyway?"

"Well, we're headed to Jubilife City for Viviane's next cont…" but he was interrupted by the girl's smug remark:

"There is no "we" here! I mean, with you, Kale, I could stomach traveling. But what would people say when I'm a famous coordinator and travel around with this…idiot?"

Kale threw a concerned look at Jed. The teen had certainly heard the blonde's angry whispering but didn't react. After closer inspection Kale realized that Jed was counting the leaves of the tree near them. Well, the new boy was strange. And maybe crazy. But without his battle "accessories" he looked kind of normal after all. With these thoughts in mind, the trainer was about to try and make Viviane reconsider.

But, to his bitter surprise, she just put her black Pokédex in her backpack and gave another "humph".

"Suit yourself! I'm out of here. If you want, maybe I'll let you come. Thinks fast, I'm going. Right now!"

With this, Viviane turned around and headed down the road to Jubilife. Kale couldn't believe his ears and replied slowly, barely restraining his anger.

"Suit yourself! You'll _let_ me come?! Okay then! Jed, we're heading to Oreburgh through Jubilife first thing in the morning."

Viviane just continued walking, pretending she wasn't paying attention to Kale. She let another trademark "humph" seeking to annoy him even more… but when she turned right and the Center was out of sight, you could see the badly hidden sadness in her eyes.

After Viviane was out of sight, Kale sighed and turned around, just to get scared by Jed standing right behind him.

"Relax, Kale. We'll find you a new girlfriend along the way," the teen yawned and patted his shoulder.

_"What did you say?"_

"Nothing, nothing. My tummy's rumbling," Jed dismissively waved his hand.

**TBC**


	6. Forming the Flock

[CENTER] [SIZE=3][B][I]Chapter 6:

Forming the Flock [/CENTER] [/SIZE=3] [B][I]

"Jubilife City! Finally, we're here! You can smell the wonderful city air from here, right bud?"

The auburn-haired teen's words spread far and wide from the steep hill he was standing on. Down below was the magnificent Jubilife City- one of the biggest settlements in Sinnoh and our travelers' current destination. Their goal was close, the sun was shining brightly and the Flying types were singing. Nothing could have ruined their mood. Except…

"Yeah, right!" the obviously sarcastic response of the dark-haired boy made Jed turn around. He flung his enormous green backpack on his back and- obviously without a clue- asked.

"What's the matter, Kale? Aren't you happy we've reached Jubilife?"

The morning breeze drowned the beginning of the young trainer's answer, who was muttering in frustration.

"…am happy. But it would've been better if we didn't spent the last few hours RUNNING AWAY FROM CRAZED BEEDRIL!" the angry shout echoed around, even scaring some Starly and Pidgey away. A young Bidoof could have been seen running away in panic.

"Cool down, dude. I did tell you they called it the "Beedril's pass", right?" Jed didn't even look slightly concerned by his friend's sudden outburst. In fact he was currently playing with his orange-and-red jacket's zipper, trying to see how quickly he could zip and unzip it.

"You missed to mention they are even crazier than usual because it's their mating period now!" Kale didn't shout this time- his body was numb and aching because of the numerous stings "You said you knew the pass well!"

In a flash of white light, a small and colorful bird-like Pokémon appeared. Shaking his eight-note-like head, Chatot sung while jolting around the two boys.

"[I]Yay!Yay!Yay, dudes! Me hyper! 'cause it's morning! It friendlyyyyyy!Yay![/I]

In another flash of white light, Blace was on Kale's shoulder, his mouth hanging open like his trainer's. Jed, as always, acted as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening- despite the lightning-fast blur of varying colors jolting around. Taking out a red-and-white sphere and pointing it to Chatot, the teen just yawned.

"Chatot, return."

The red beam had just gone inside the poke ball when Jed noticed the boy and his starter's shocked, and funny, expressions. The teen stretched and, still yawning, dismissively waved his hand.

"Don't mind him, guys. It's just his morning hyperness."

One of Kale's eyebrows twitched. The little fire monkey was still on his shoulder, scratching his head in confusion.

"Gee, Blace. And I thought [I]you[/I] were hyper before dinner."

Right on queue, Chatot burst out of his poke ball again. He flew around like crazy and sung like drunk.

"[I]Yay! Jed never been through the Beedril's pass. He been to Seviper's pass. Jed is craaa-a-zy! Yay![/I]"

"Of course! It was the Seviper's pass! Must've slipped my mind. Sorry," the teen pulled down his lemon-colored beanie and sheepishly smiled.

"You…you've never been… to… You're crazy, man!" Kale's Chimchar was now looking worriedly at his rapidly reddening trainer. Kale just continued shouting. "And how come you're not hurt!? I saw you getting stung at least a dozen times."

"I did?" Jed looked clearly astounded. Checking his body for any damage, stretching his hands and legs around, he suddenly stopped when he threw a look at his purple sneakers. "My toes! I can't feel my toes! I can't see them! I AIN'T GOT NO TOES!"

The eccentric teen was acting positively crazy now. His banshee-like cries cut through the fresh morning air and nearly shattered Kale's and Blace's eardrums. The Pokémon around them were panicky fleeing to somewhere far away. Jed clutched Kale's shoulders and, making the Chimchar fall off, started shouting in a spooky gruff voice in the trainer's face.

"THE WEREPSYDUCK! THEY TOOK MY TOES! THEY ARE AFTER ME!"

This was now too much for Kale to handle. Pulling back his fist, the boy smacked the teen on the back of his head, shouting in frustration.

"Get a grip, Jed! You can't see your toes because of you sneakers," Kale voice trailed off in laughter when he fully realized the reason for his friend's emotional outburst.

"Oh, right. Guess I forgot," Jed beamed a smile as he sheepishly scratched his chin. Both Kale and Blace were rolling on the ground laughing. Everyone seemed to have completely forgotten about the hyperactive Chatot. And he decided it was not a good decision.

With a dazed tackle, the colorful bird slammed into Jed, knocking the teen while shouting.

"[I]Yay! Group hug! Yay![/I]"

The situation would have been hilarious if Chatot hadn't sent Jed tumbling and rolling down the hill. Kale, still half-laughing, ran after him with Blace trying to hang on his shoulder. The hyper Flying type was following them, flying in circles and singing "Hallelujah".

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Just half a minute after the boys had entered the city, the urbanization had engulfed them completely. There was no sign of the Flying types that flew high in the clear blue skies around the grassy fields surrounding the city. The quiet countryside was shoved aside by the fast-paced city life. There were people in suits everywhere, pacing back and forth, trying to outrun time. There were numerous hot-dog and fast food stands, and some ice cream trucks, surrounded by crowds of shouting children, whose voices were semi-muted by dozens of car horns. Junk food was smell everywhere. And it was driving the drooling Blace crazy.

Kale took a deep breath- he had always loved big cities, especially Jubilife. For him, the sky there was just as blue as the sky in the mountains or anywhere else. The tall skyscrapers were like guard towers made of glass and metal to him. Maybe it was because of the very first impression he had when he left for the first time the beautiful but relatively small Celestic Town. When he entered Jubilife for the very first time, Kale was astounded… bewildered, by the giants of glass and metal surrounding him. The urban jungle, the big and crowded stadiums- that was his favorite battlefield.

Kale suddenly screeched to a halt. His daydreaming had nearly made him bump into a raven-haired boy around his age. The young trainer quickly excused but the other boy just muttered something like "No worries" and disappeared into the crowd. Kale stared at the place from where the boy had, seemingly, teleported away. But Blace soon pulled slightly his ear and turned his head to the other side of the street. There was standing a small, at least for this city, but modern building with a big red "P" embossed on its front wall. Jed had already crossed the street and was frantically waving at him.

Kale and Blace crossed as quickly as possible. Reuniting with Jed on the other side, they were about to enter through the double glass doors when they noticed a Pokémon battle. A human shaped, tan-colored Pokémon with red boxing gloves was fighting a gray Rock type that looked like a small rock with hands. The boys hadn't noticed the battle at first because of the city noises and the crowd around the battling duo. The travelers were about go over and watch the rest of it but with one swift glowing punch, the tan-colored Pokémon sent the Rock type flying, knocking it out.

Sighing in annoyance, the duo just turned back to the sliding doors and entered the Pokémon Center. The change was immediate- the moment the glass doors had shut, all outside noise disappeared. Only the happy chatter of various trainers could have been heard. Kale noticed that semi-transparent furniture was dominating the interior- but the usual blue-and-white color theme was just the same as in the previous Center. Discussing the part of the battle they had managed to watch, Kale and Jed didn't notice they had reached the reception until a suspiciously familiar voice brought them back to reality.

"No rooms! How come! Not even a single one?!"

Kale jerked his head around and was greeted by the familiar sight of two long spiky blond pigtails. The black-and-yellow clad girl's voice was still echoing when Kale smirked.

"Déjà vu, huh? But no, there's not even a single room this time. Guess there's karma alright."

"You… and you!" Viviane pointed at the two boys in shock and Blace waved her "Hi". She was obviously shocked but quickly regained her composure "Well, look at who the Meowth had just dragged in."

"The Glameow! We're patriots here, sister! We shall use our native Pokémon in phrases like that!" Jed raised his voice and triumphantly waved his fist above his head. Both Kale and Viviane tried to pretend they didn't know him. The Chimchar was whistling suspiciously as well. The blond shot a glare towards Kale. It clearly said "I told 'ya so".

"Viviane, how come you're checking in now? You were half a day ahead of us," the dark-haired boy tried to defuse the situation.

"Well, I camped in the forest last night aaaand… that's none of your business!"

The sarcastic response didn't surprise Kale the slightest- he was used to Viviane's antics. Giving her a big smile, the young trainer said:

"Too bad you have nowhere to stay now. Every Center and hotel room is taken because of the Contest. Good luck finding accommodations!"

"Like you two have a place to stay! You've just arrived- you're still with you backpacks!" Viviane pointed to the mountain of a bag on Jed's back. The teen was now playing rock-paper-scissors with himself…

"Oh, but we do have a place to stay!" Kale announced with a triumphant smirk.

"We do?!" it seemed Jed was at least following the conversation. After the announcement he was staring at Kale in surprise. Even Blace looked shocked.

"Yeah, we do," Kale was enjoying every second- the look on Viviane's face was priceless "My family owns a flat from when I used to attend the Jubilife Trainers' School. And it's big enough for all of us. But I know you don't want to associate with eccentric people [I]and[/I] people associating with eccentric people."

[I]Game, set, match.[/I]

Kale's inner self was wooting. Viviane was backed in a corner. She knew she couldn't find another place to stay. Nor she had time for it- she had to get ready for the contest. But on the other hand… accepting meant admitting she was wrong. Viviane hated Kale for doing that. He was way more persuasive than the usual trainers she had met. And she didn't like that asset of his when used on her. But there was no other choice… and Viviane chose the lesser evil. The blonde shrugged in defeat and Kale smirked. Even Jed seemed to have a cocky smile on his face.

Seeing they had no reason to stay at the Center anymore- their Pokémon were fine- the diverse trio headed out. The bright sun blinded them for a second when they stepped out- but Kale's attention was diverted by something else. The boy with the tan-colored Fighting type was having a battle again. It seemed it was just starting- another boy waved his hand a shouted "Begin".

The orange-colored weasel-like Pokémon that was facing the gloves-wearing Pokémon spit out a powerful jet of water. His opponent didn't even flinch. The Hitmonchan's- Kale had just remembered the Pokémon's name- trainer ordered something that sounded like "Vacuum Wave". Hitmonchan raised one of his gloved hands in the air and making swirling motions- to everyone's surprise- started sucking in the water in a rapidly enlarging blue sphere above him. The water was giving a dim glow ad there were numerous water jets swirling around the Hitmonchan. Flashy moves that were a sign of a coordinator. Viviane must have noticed this as well because Kale heard her whisper "He is a coordinator" -more to herself than anyone else.

The Water type's trainer was at loss and the spiky blond commanding the Hitmonchan took offensive action. This time, Kale heard him say "Ice Punch" clearly. The Fighting type was about to push forward the water and air he had gathered but instead, his gloved hand glowed blue and he jolted forward with the blue glowing vortex still around his hand. The ice and water combo left everyone speechless. The part of the water that didn't freeze immediately was spinning, conducting the electric-like current of ice energy. The Water type trainer was a second too late. Before he could react, the Hitmonchan had made contact, forcing the weasel-like Pokémon into a nearby tree in a flashy explosion of blue sparks, icicles and water droplets. Viviane threw a shocked look at the defeated Water type- it was unconscious, upper half frozen because of the attack. And it was supposed to have an advantage over the Fighting type. The artificial voice of Kale's blue Pokédex brought her back to reality.

"[I]Hitmonchan, the Punching Pokémon. The arm-twisting punches it throws pulverize even concrete. It rests after three minutes of fighting.[/I]"

Kale was astounded by the sheer force of the attack. When he first saw the spiky blond and his Pokémon, Kale thought they were challenging gyms like him. But seeing the eye-catching and breath-taking finesse of that powerful combo… that boy sure was something. Instinctively, Kale's arm dropped to his belt. He was itching for a shot at the other kid. He was about to go and challenge him when Blace poked his trainer's head and pointed at something.

Jed was next to him, half-leaning forward, staring at something just next to Viviane and… drooling. Dumbstruck, Kale and Blace leaned too and threw a surprised look at the direction Jed was staring at. There, on Viviane's left, was standing a girl, probably in her early teens. She looked interested in the battle as well and was writing something in a decorated notebook. Kale's mind needed some time to realize the absurd situation. Jed was infatuated with that girl. Scratch that, it was an understatement. The drool pond around Jed made Kale take several steps back. But it got worse when Jed started taking action…

With one swift swing, the teen put his enormous green backpack on the ground and unzipped it. Nearly burying himself into the bag, Jed pulled out a pitch-black leather jacket, something colorful that suspiciously looked like a kilt, an eye patch and… a thin fake moustache. Putting all the things on and keeping his usual attire underneath them, Jed was out in a flash. Kale, Blace and Viviane didn't have time to stop him before he reached the girl. Luckily, the crowd had gone back in after the fight.

"Heeeeelo, gorgeous! You new around here? Because Mr. Jed can show you the most beautiful things around town. A little hit: look in a mirror. How about we go somewhere private, you and m…"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME, YOU PERVERT!"

The scream made the rest of our trio cringe. The girl had not only shouted but had punched Jed straight in the gut, sending him flying and twisting in the air. Jed, however, was not easy to be put down. Springing back on his feet, he whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Oooh. Fiery!" his winking was cut short by a yellow claw that swung at him. The hit would have surely cut him open but Jed, aside from being surprised, didn't react. He just headed dizzily to the girl, sending her air kisses. The human shaped yellow-and-black striped Pokémon was about to attack him again but suddenly Chatot popped out again. However, instead of heading to the attacker, Chatot started whacking Jed's head while shouting.

"[I]Yay! Loco! Locolocoloco! Yay![/I]"

Jed panicked and started running in circles, just to end up slamming into a tree and falling unconscious. Viviane decided it was time for action and quickly reached Jed, pinning him to the ground. Kale tried apologizing to the girl in a vain try to lighten the mood. The teen just smirked and bridled up.

"This wouldn't have happened if you and your girlfriend had kept your pet on a leash, trainer boy," the girl flicked her waist-length ruby red hair. Pulling out a poke ball from her expensive-looking purse, she pointed it to the Pokémon that had attacked Jed.

"Thank you, Vespiquen, my dear. Return."

"What did you just say, missy?!" Viviane, her face now bright red, had left Jed under Chatot's -rather painful- care and had joined the conversation.

"Oooh, touched a nerve, did I? You're gonna defend your wittle boyfwiend 'cause he can't take care of himself?"

Kale literally froze… "[I]Touched a nerve, did I?[/I]"

This girl could as well have been Viviane's long lost evil sister… but with the blonde's antics, evil wasn't a concrete definition. These kinds of thoughts raced through Kale's mind as he feared what would the outcome of a clash between the two would be. Not pretty for sure. The trainer tried to shake off the bloody images from his mind and concentrated. Meeting a snarky Viviane clone wasn't appealing to him. One volcano was all that he could handle for now. And judging by how those two glared at each other… Armageddon was coming. And he had to be there to stop it… even if only for his own health.

"Care to back that up, sister?" Viviane hissed as she pushed the other girl. Regaining balance, her foe gently smoothed her light green v-necked sweater, her plain black skirt and even her grey tights before answering.

"I don't normally associate with lowlife like you but I'll make an exception this time. We're going to have a battle, dear!"

"Bring it on, sister!" Viviane shouted as the girls glared at each other, sparks flying between them.

The older girl broke free from their mutual "death glare" and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear:

"At least I'm going to shine in this battle! With your way of clothing," she pointed at Viviane's black-and-yellow edgy miniskirt "everyone will prefer watching [I]my[/I] graceful persona. Not you, little…hmm."

The blonde was taken aback. The redhead dared to insult her style?! And she almost called her a… well, it was her funeral after all, Viviane thought while clenching her shaking fist.

"[I]Why you ignorant brat![/I]"

In a flash, the two girls were lying on the ground and struggling to pin the other down. Vivi had grabbed the redhead in a lock and the older girl was pulling the blonde's long spiky pigtails frantically. Jed was still out, Chatot repeatedly slapping him and trying to wake him up, and Kale was at a loss what to do.

"Hey! You two! Settle down!" the Hitmonchan's trainer had approached them unnoticed. Pulling the girls apart, the spiky blond asked rather irritated.

"What's this commotion all about?!"

The girls' simultaneous and similarly sounding responses echoed far and wide.

"[I]Why don't you ask Blondierella here?[/I]"

"[I]Why don't you ask Hollowhead here?[/I]"

"Okaaay..." Kale exclaimed while sheepishly scratching his head. Blace looked dumbstruck as well. The two girls gave an audible "humph", turned backs to each other and bridled up. They kept glaring at each other with half an eye, though.

The Hitmonchan trainer sighed and, beaming a big suspicious-looking smile, pulled out something that looked like sheets of paper from the pockets of his baggy camouflage pants. Handing each of the two girls a paper, the spiky blond gave them a perversive wink and exclaimed:

"Relax, sweethearts. There's enough [I]Riii-i-co[/I] for each of y…" the poor boy didn't even have time to finish his sentence because two blazing fists made contact with his face and knocked him back.

The echo of the mutual shout "You pervert" could have been heard a mile away.

Great! Another crazy guy around! The surprises were getting too many for Kale to like. Pushing back his black-rimmed glasses, the dark-haired boy took a deep breath. His shout nearly knocked Blace off his shoulder.

"WILL ALL OF YOU STOP IT ALREADY?!"

All of them, the still dizzy blond, Viviane and the snotty-nosed redhead stood silent. Even Chatot stopped slapping Jed and the teen managed to get up a little bit and mutter "sweet jelly-filled potatoes" before losing consciousness again.

Rico was the first one to regain his voice. After scratching his chin in thought, the blond made a suggestion.

"Why don't we have a double battle? These two seem itching to fight each other," he pointed to the girls "but there's only one free field 'cause everybody's training for the contest. I'm on one of the teams with one of our belles here, and you," Rico waved at Kale "with the other. Loser team buys lunch. Deal?"

Kale's answer was immediate but it took some time for the girls to agree. Not that they didn't want to annihilate each other… they didn't want to be on the same team with the still winking at them Rico. After a quick game of rock-paper-scissors Viviane was paired up with Kale. The duos took their respective parts of the field when they all noticed something. There was no judge.

Jed, still in his… bizarre accessories, was now munching on something that looked like sandwiches made of potatoes. Chatot just shook his eight-note-like head. Guess their eccentric friend was not completely… adequate yet. A somewhat gruff voice, as if it wasn't regularly used, interrupted the gang's bickering whether they should search for a judge or not.

"I could judge the battle if you don't mind."

Kale was surprised to see the raven-haired boy he had bumped in before. The newcomer slowly walked to them. Now that he could, Kale carefully examined the stranger. Something in his voice seemed… off to the boy. The stranger's dark hair was covering one of his eyes, in a style completely matching the boy's black jeans and dark blue-and-black hoodie. The stranger seemed to want to be unseen and unnoticed. Even his stance was somewhat small-ish.

Rico accepted the offer as quickly as possible. Kale and Vivi thought for a minute before nodding but the redhead met the boy's eyes and just stared at him for several minutes. Before nodding as well and asking for the newcomer's name. Kale could've sworn he saw suspicion in the girl's emerald eyes. Viviane could've sworn she saw something like the way Rico looked at the two girls…

"My name is Steven. And whose battle am I judging?"

The other battlers just waved and said their names. The emerald-eyed girl flicked her ruby red hair and exclaimed:

"Moi?" pointing with her index finger to herself, she winked "I'm Rebecca, my dear."

"Seducing the referee won't help you, Hollowhead. Desperate already?" Viviane plastered an arrogant smile on her face. She tossed a poke ball and a yellow feline with a spiky white collar appeared. Jolteon growled and took battle stations.

"Like you know anything about winning, Blondierella!" was Rebecca's comeback. She threw her red-and-white sphere high in the air and a squirrel-like little white Pokémon emerged from it. Viviane immediately scanned it:

[I]Pachirisu, the EleSquirrel Pokémon. It makes electricity with pouches in its cheeks and shoots charges from its tail. It lives atop trees.[/I]

The boys had already called out their respective Pokémon- Starly and Hitmonchan- but Vivi was still staring at her Pokédex. The trail that went from the Electric type's head to the tip of its large tail was depicted as blue. But Rebecca's had a pink stripe.

"Impressed?" Rebecca had read the blonde's expression correctly. "Daddy gave her to me. Her coloration is [I]extremely[/I] rare."

"Begin!" the sudden shout pointed out that the referee had had enough talking.

Kale never knew whether Rico was just waiting for Steven's signal or he just had unnatural reflexes. The young trainer's ears and brain had barely registered the command "Mach Punch" when he saw the purple tunic-clad Pokémon in front of his brown bird-like friend. Hitmonchan's glowing fist jolted forward, invisible for the naked eye. Kale's shocked shout "Quick Attack" seemed too late. But by some miracle, or maybe Starly was acting on instinct even before the command, the Flying type disappeared in a flash of white light, the place where it once was now occupied by Hitmonchan's fist.

"[I]That was a clos…[/I]" Kale's thoughts were interrupted by Rebecca shouting "Spark".

Starly was in mid-air, still regaining his senses after the lightning-fast escape… and Pachirisu was coming from down below, covered in blue crackling sparks. The collision was inevitable- Starly was still too dazed to react on time…

"Jolteon, Quick Attack!" Viviane's voice had lost its usual arrogant feel. It was as determined as before. But it showed she wasn't underestimating her opponent either.

The spiky yellow feline came out of nowhere and clashed with the electric-charged white rodent. Neither managed to prevail and after half a minute of white flashes and sparkling blue jolts of electricity colliding mid-air, Jolteon and Pachirisu pushed each other away. The two Pokémon had just touched the ground when Viviane voice rang across the field.

"Now Jolteon, while you're close to her! Pin Missile!"

The electric feline's spiky white collar glowed and after a second its energy-enhanced needles shot out. The rain of white glowing rocket-like projectile slammed directly into the still recovering from the clash Pachirisu. The little rodent was sent flying and ended its flight with a weak squeal on the hard ground in front of Rebecca. Kale thought this was the opening he needed and was about to order an Aerial Ace. Sadly, Rico didn't like being neglected.

"Hitmonchan, Agility!" the tan human-like Pokémon immediately obeyed, suddenly disappearing and appearing in front of Starly "Now Mach Punch!"

Kale didn't even have time to open his mouth. Hitmonchan's fist had barely started glowing when he rammed it straight into Starly, sending him spiraling to the ground. The Punching Pokémon didn't stop there, though. Speeding downwards past the brown bird, he punched it again, stopping his fall, before slamming from above again and renewing the freefall. The Starling Pokémon was about to hit the ground when Hitmonchan, with probably what was left of the Agility boost, punched him with yet another Mach Punch. Starly changed his trajectory and flew horizontally for a few meters before crashing and skidding to a stop after several dull thuds.

Viviane and Jolteon were torn by the question whether to help Kale and Starly or finish Pachirisu off. The redhead, however, immediately ceased the opportunity. After being ordered another Spark, Pachirisu once again covered herself with blue sparks and prepared to crash into the Lightning Pokémon. Viviane seemed to notice on time and was about to make Jolteon try dodging the attack. But instead, she decided to let it hit. Her trusty companion got the hint and mustering all of her strength, took the hit head-on. At first, the pink-striped rodent pushed Jolteon back several meters and her blue sparks covered both their bodies, crackling violently. The moment the yellow feline stopped in her tracks, Vivi shouted excitedly.

"Now Jolteon! Absorb it! Then jump as high as you can!"

Her companion didn't waste any time. With a fierce growl, she tensed her body and the blue sparks were surprisingly quickly absorbed in her collar, slightly changing its color to blue. The feline immediately jumped and when she reached the highest point possible for her, Viviane shouted again.

"Pin Missile, full power! Hit them both!"

"Joool- TEON!"

This time the rocket needle barrage was released along with a strong electrical surge, the collected energy changing the projectiles' color to bright blue. Hitmonchan had sent Starly on the far side of the field so he was out of range. The electrical rocket barrage covered half the field, colliding with tremendous force before exploding and covering the terrain with smoke.

"[I]This is it. V saved me again [/I]and [I] she gave me cover.[/I]" Kale thoughts were racing as he tried to encourage Starly "Come one, Starly! We won't let them beat us, right? We fight 'till the end!"

His Flying type friend weakly squeaked and tried getting up. One eye closed and with a furious but determined expression Starly slowly stood up, weakly flapping his wings… but fell with a dull thud again. Kale was paralyzed. What now? He couldn't let Viviane fight alone. But Starly was in no condition to battle. The young trainer glanced at the referee. Steven was watching Starly but seeing he was still struggling to get up, decided to give him a chance.

Viviane knew that if Kale and Starly didn't pull it through, she was done for. Jolteon had dealt some major damage, at least to Pachirisu, but she was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion herself. Rico and Rebecca seemed to be discussing something- probably their plan how to finish them both with one attack. Vivi knew she had to make a decision. And fast. Panicked thoughts racing one after another in her head, she made her choice. V knew it would probably end the wrong one… but she would stick with it nonetheless. It was strange really. She would have never had taken the same decision when she met him. But Kale had proven himself different… in a way. Viviane thought that maybe, just maybe, he stood a chance.

With somewhat irritated expression, Rebecca quit her angry whispering and let Rico have it his way. Still sounding slightly angered, she ordered:

"Pachirisu, Discharge! Full power!"

The pink-striped rodent tensed, her orange cheeks crackling with electricity. The charge was getting stronger and stronger by the minute, illuminating the small part of the field still covered with what was left of the smoke.

"Pachiiiiii-RISUUUU!"

The lightning torrent that exploded from the little white squirrel-like Pokémon sent shattering shockwaves through the field. The ground around the rodent shattered as the attack spread around hitting even Hitmonchan himself. The hissing lightning bolts tried to reach Jolteon and Starly… but stopped, heading towards Rico's companion instead.

Kale and Viviane looked dumbstruck, unable to figure out what was going on. Hitmonchan fell on one knee and cringed as the strong electrical surge engulfed his whole body. Rico was clenching his fist and biting his lip. He sure didn't like his own plan… but he was confident Hitmonchan would pull through. It was time.

"Vacuum Wave!" Rico's confident voice was heard for a second before disappearing amidst the crackling orchestra of lightning.

Hitmonchan, eyes still shut, slowly and painfully rose up. He gradually raised his gloved hand above his electrically-illuminated body and slowly, but surely, started spinning it around faster and faster. What was left off the-now electrically-charged smoke- and the blue sparks themselves were pulled in by the whirlwind forming above his head. Kale, Viviane, Steven, even Rebecca, were awestruck- how could he gather even [I]electricity[/I]?!

The lightning bolts slowly left Hitmonchan's body and completely gathered in the blue electrical vortex around his hand…

"Thunder Punch, now!"

Rico's shout shattered the silence and in the blink of an eye Hitmonchan was jolting towards Starly who was still lying on the ground and trying to get up. Kale watched how blue lightning merged with yellow and clenched his sweating hands tightly. Still trying to encourage Starly nonetheless, the boy prayed for his friend… but it was too late. Once again, Hitmonchan was in front of the little brown bird. He pushed his fist forward, part of the vortex jolting onward. Kale's hand frantically gripped his poke ball and he was about to recall his friend… but Viviane's desperate shout stopped him in his tracks.

"Jolteon, absorb it all!"

Suddenly, the yellow feline was between Starly and Hitmonchan. She bravely took the electrical vortex, not flinching even when the lightning-charged fist crashed into her. She skid back a few feet… and stopped Hitmonchan's onslaught in his tracks. Jolteon's graceful body was illuminated by the dual-colored electricity and her strained expression couldn't even show the pain she was in. Yes, she was an Electric type. But some jolts were too much even for her.

Still, the sparks sunk in her spiky persona and the crackling sound slowly faded away. Jolteon looked like she was about to pass out. But she had one more thing to do. Viviane's shout blended with her Jolteon's ferocious growl. Releasing the collected electricity in a mighty Thunderbolt attack, she tore apart the ground in front of her and sent Hitmonchan flying. The lightning barrage jolted forward and engulfed the field, striking the already panting Pachirisu hard. The little white rodent couldn't take more damage and passed out with a weak squeal.

Jolteon followed not long after, glancing apologetically at her trainer before falling unconscious. Steven announced that they were unable to battle… and that left only the still struggling to get up Starly and the exhausted but determined Hitmonchan fighting.

Recalling Jolteon, Viviane held the poke ball closely and pierced Kale with her bright blue eyes.

"It's up to you now, Kale."

That was it. One simple, short sentence. But for Kale it meant millions of words. The arrogant, sarcastic and majorly bratty girl had decided to give up her chance to find and instead chose to take the hit for him. Viviane entrusted the battle to him. One starting trainer that had just met his first major obstacle in battling. And Kale wasn't planning on letting neither Starly nor Viviane down.

"Come on, Starly. We won't give up, will we?" Kale was talking with a low and trembling voice while across the field, Rico ordered another Mach Punch. "I know you used to fight a lot before we met. And you've probably lost most of the battles, seeing how you always pick on the big guys." Starly was still trying to stand up, flapping his wing frantically. "But I don't care. You were alone back then… and now we are together! We're a team! And anyone who's facing us… his facing an army! Now get up and let's show them who's boss!"

Starly's eyes shot open as he confusedly stared at his trainer. Kale wasn't going to give up on him? He didn't care about his previous losses? And he… Starly wasn't alone? The raging storm of thoughts in the little bird's head exploded. All his life he was alone, never being part of a flock because he always picked on fights with others. This made Starly want to battle even more. He wanted to prove himself, to prove he could be strong and defend the flock, maybe even be the leader. But he lost. Again… and again. And now Kale was telling him losses didn't matter? Did Starly finally had a friend who wouldn't leave him? Or was it even just one friend?

"Come on, Starly! We can do it!"

"Char-chimchaaar!"

"Go, little dude! Show him your power!"

"[I]Yay! Kick his butt! Make us Flying types proud! Yay![/I]"

"You can do it, Starly!"

All of them- Kale, the now cheering Jed, Chatot and Blace who were watching the teen while he was unconscious, even Viviane, who had covered her mouth and whose eyes were full of anxiety. All of them cared about him. He had a flock now. And Starly would have rather be damned then let his flock down.

Hitmonchan was, for the umpteenth time, in front of him. As the tan Fighting type pulled back his glowing gloved hand, time seemed to slow down. With what was left of his strength, Starly flapped his wings… Hitmonchan's fist shot forward in a blur and time seemed to fast forward. The glowing fist shattered the ground upon contact and everyone gasped when the smoke cleared… and saw that there was nothing beneath Hitmonchan's fist.

"Staa-a-r-liiiii!" Starly swooped down from above and the air swirled around him. The brown bird slammed into the stunned Fighting type with the force of a freight train, sending him flying. Kale was as amazed as everyone else- even the stoic-looking judge's eyes had widened.

"S-starly? But how? You used Aerial Ace when you swooped down, not before. How did you dodge? And you speed was far greater! Did… did you just learn Agility?" the young trainer's eyes widened upon realization.

"Star! Starly!" was the Flying type's proud response.

On the other side of the field, the stunned Rico had commanded a Thunder Punch. Hitmonchan's glove crackled with yellow sparks as he jolted forward again. But this time, Kale and Starly were ready.

"Okay then, Starly! Agility followed up by Wing Attack!"

Hitmonchan had reached Starly and was now swinging his arm… but Starly disappeared in a flash, leaving the tan Pokémon to lean forward losing balance. Sensing the opportunity, Starly appeared before Hitmonchan, his wings glowing bright white and slightly enlarged. The Punching Pokémon didn't have time to react as Starly started whacking him from the right, then the left and then right again. Just as he thought it was over, Hitmonchan was smacked by a vicious winged backhand and Starly prepared to finish him of with one last Wing Attack. The brown bird swung down. But his wing was stopped mid-track by Hitmonchan's hand. The Fighting type was panting but upon his trainer's command, electricity once again crackled in his hand. The Thunder Punch slammed straight into the undefended Flying type, electrocuting him and sending him back.

By that moment, Kale's clenched fists were on the verge of tearing the fabric of his black-and-blue fingerless gloves and Rico's sleeveless yellow tank-top was drenching in sweat. Both their Pokémon were on the brink of collapsing, panting heavily and clearly straining themselves just to stand straight. It had finally come down to it. The final attack. Piercing black met determined hazel as Starly threw a look at his trainer. Kale's and Rico's shout shouts merged in the air.

"Put everything you have in this! Aerial Ace!"

"This is the moment of truth, Hitmonchan! Mach Punch!"

Speed incarnate. That was how the two Pokémon rushing towards each other could be described the best. Hitmonchan's gloved fist glowed white, a complete blur for the naked eye. Starly was surrounded by a vortex of cutting air, ready to speed up any second… the boys' shouts merged once again.

"[I]Now![/I]"

"[I]Now![/I]"

The Pokémon's eyes met for a second, a trace of respect and recognition for the other visible in them. And then, time itself sped up. Hitmonchan twisted his glowing fist while he punched forward. Starly did a barrel roll mid-air, his speeding body grazing the gleaming glove and sparks flew around. It seemed that the attacks were going to cancel each other out… but Starly jolted forward, crashing into Hitmonchan's face and sending him flying back. Landing on the cracked ground with a dull thud, Hitmonchan tried to get up. And fell unconscious.

Steven's final announcement unleashed a storm of cheering.

"You did it, buddy! You beat him!"

"Chaar-chim!"

"[I]Yay! We rock! You rock! We rock! Yay![/I]"

"Awesome, dude! The Aura is with you now! I'll make you my special triple potato sandwich!"

"Congratulations on your victory, Starly!"

Everybody cheered under the bright happily shining sun. Even Steven was smirking a bit and Rico was smiling while helping Hitmonchan stand up and congratulating the sad Pokémon for a battle well done. Only Rebecca glared furiously at Rico. But even she let it go in the end.

- - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The dim light of the weak flickering warehouse lamps barely illuminated the faces of the shady trio. Two of them, dressed in something that looked like usual blue police uniforms, were kneeling. The third one had tuned his back to them, his hands behind his back, and seemed to be waiting for something. The kneeling duo waited in silence but no sign from their superior came. The more impatient one of the twins couldn't take it any more, partially because that it was slightly hurting his ego, partially because of the creepy silence itself. Clearing his throat, Vlad spoke in a gruff tired voice-the silence had made his throat sore.

"Excuse me for interrupting, Commander, but why did you request our presence here?"

The young man, dressed in grey-and-blue individually designed Galactic uniform, just continued staying still. Just as Vlad thought the Commander hadn't heard him and was about to speak again, the Galactic admin swiftly turned around without a warning, scaring the twins in the process.

"I heard you the first time, grunt."

Draco got worried as he noticed his brother's blue eyes widen. Usually the grunts were addressed by their designation number by the higher-ups. "Grunt" was a clear mockery when it came from the mouth of a Commander. And it was for the best for Vlad to keep his temper. Draco knew disagreeing with a Commander meant trouble. But disagreeing with [I]him[/I]… Draco didn't even want to think about it. Still, he tightly clutched Seviper's poke ball. If Vlad got in a fight, Draco was going to be there for his brother. The younger twin shifted his weary gaze to the shaded persona in front of them- the Commander was talking again.

"As I said, I heard you the first time. I have checked your records. To say that you two are capable agents would be an understatement. You are [I]horrible[/I]. You two have the lowest mission success score in our whole organization. The only thing that saves your Galactic status is the only reason you got hired in the first place…"

Pausing, the Commander removed some of his blue yellow-striped hair from his eyes. His hair was the standard Galactic bowl cut… but he had always preferred his real hair. And despite not redesigning it like the other Commanders, he did let it grow longer. Marching across into the darkest part of the warehouse, he turned to face the twins again.

"… your uncanny ability to disguise yourselves." the blue-and-yellow haired man was now behind the kneeling twins and gesturing to their police uniforms "Before being accepted you were followed and tested numerous times. Despite your obvious and total foolishness, clumsiness and overall stupidity, when you want,[I]if you want[/I], you two can be nearly invisible. The test showed that given the right ultimatum you are capable of memorizing the slightest bit of details about your target's antics, copying the gestures, perfectly changing your voices and even acting as if you [I]are[/I] the target. But the results pointed out that you tend to use your full capabilities only when pursuing some foolish goal… like impressing a girl for example."

Vlad didn't like the tone of the Commander… he might as well have hated him. But the man was right behind them and Vlad had heard about the man's abilities… and Draco was there too. And Vlad, despite acting bossy or even bratty sometimes, was never going to endanger the other twin on purpose. Gritting his teeth and gulping, Vlad settled for just tightly gripping Zangoose's poke ball.

The Commander resumed his quiet stroll before speaking again.

"Your escape from prison, your record time escape from prison, shows that you are still capable of disguising sufficiently enough. I could only wonder how you managed to grab hold of the uniforms from inside your cells. And this topic leads us to the primary reason you are here… I have a mission for you."

Upon hearing the sudden and surprise announcement, Draco cast up his blue eyes. A Commander had a personal mission for him and his brother?! Whatever it was, it was surely worth hearing. Vlad next to him just continued glaring down, too suspicious of the Commander. Then the Galactic admin's stern voice slightly echoed under the flickering lights once again.

"Your mission is simple. Under a certain building, here in Jubilife, lies an ancient but small shrine of some sort. Our leader believes that the only entryway is located somewhere in the building above. We seem to be lucky because the said building is open for visitors this week. You are to gain entry, discover the passageway and bring the… artifact that is in the shrine to me. Remember," the Commander's yellow eyes flickered, "this is my mission as well as yours. And I never [I]ever[/I] fail on a mission."

The twins gulped as the man placed a big envelope on an old cracked table that was nearby.

"You will find all the details here. Dismissed."

The final word had just stopped echoing in the dark empty warehouse as the Commander disappeared into the shadows.

[B]TBC[/B]


	7. Blaze of Sorrow

[CENTER][SIZE=3][I][B]Chapter 7:

Blaze of Sorrow…[/B][/I][/SIZE=3][/CENTER]

"Uhmm… Kale, exactly how much does he eat?" the wide-eyed blond boy nervously shifted his fingers as he watched the little brown fire monkey gorge on uncanny amounts of cheeseburgers. The Fire type's owner ran a hand through his spiky black hair and smiled sheepishly.

"Well, I've never tried his limit." glancing again at the Chimchar who devoured the food with speed that rivaled most Snorlax, Kale continued explaining "If it's any other food, Pokémon or human, he eats normally and usually in amounts appropriate for his age and species and all that stuff. But when it comes down to cheeseburgers…"

Kale sighed as Rico tried to grab one of the burgers and Blace clawed his hand, eyes burning red and tail flame augmented because of the sudden surge of rage caused by the boy who tried to steal the fire monkey's "heavenly gift".

"Stand back, Rico, seems I'll have to recall him." the red beam reached Blace soon after and he threw one last teary and desperate look at the cheeseburgers before being recalled. Rico triumphantly grabbed one of the burgers and turned to Jed, who was sitting on Kale's left.

"Now that's one Big Eater Pokémon, isn't it, dude? That thing eats more than your Munchlax." the spiky blonde made a face as he realized he hadn't unwrapped his food. Nonetheless, the coordinator continued talking while trying to remove some wrapping stuck between his teeth. "Ya'd neva guess that thin' eats's much, 'ight? Hey, ya listenin'?"

"I don't think he heard a word you said. Jed, what's gotten in to you this time? Werepsyduck agai… oh. Riiight." Kale raised an eyebrow as he traced his friend's stare. On the table next to them, one of the many plastic white ones in the sunny, blue-painted cafeteria of the Pokémon Center, were sitting Vivian, Rebecca and… Steven cornered between them.

And apparently the raven-haired boy, whose own tired stare seemed to pierce the soda can he was clutching, was who Jed's death glare was aimed at. The ruby-haired teen was currently fawning over him, trying to force feed him cake and Vivian, Kale felt a strange sting when he noticed, was mirroring her new eternal rival, apparently dead set not to let Rebecca succeed even in winning over a boy…

Rico shot a glare of his own at Steven and finally throwing the wrapping away, smirked at the other boy. "Ladies, ladies, don't you see who the real man here is?"

The looks the two girls send at him could have tore through rock but the blond just grinned wider and flexed his muscles whilst striking a pose. Kale couldn't help but notice that his new friend's hands were particularly slim and the muscles Rico was "showcasing" were nowhere to be seen. Kale grew more nervous as Rico announced he was going to arm-wrestle his own Hitmonchan to prove his strength to the girls. Not even glancing at the Punching Pokémon who appeared in a flash of white next to him, the young trainer leaned forward and whispered to the other boy.

"A Hitmonchan?! You sure you want to arm-wrestle a [I]Fighting type[/I]?! No offense, dude, but you don't seem to be the most… well-built guy around here." Rico didn't even bother to be silent as he clutched Hitmonchan's gloved hand and the arm-wrestle started. The girls decided to humor their fellow coordinator and watched with mild interest. Even Steven looked up and his black eye, the one that wasn't covered by his fringe, widened with surprise. Kale's eyes did the same- Rico was actually holding his own. The boy's tendons seemed on the verge of exploding and his face was flushed by the strain as he gradually pushed down the gloved hand of the tan-colored Pokémon. Hitmonchan had a strained look on his face but strangely, his arm wasn't even shaking as Rico finally pushed down his gloved hand.

The two female coordinators stared agape, Kale's and Steven's eyebrows were nearly hidden in their hair and Rico punched the air before winking at the girls and posing again. Jed… Jed just continued drilling a hole in Steven with his silvery eyes and blinking in strange patterns every minute. Soon Chatot was out in a white flash, waving his wing in front of his trainer's face as the two girls just waved off Rico and continued their bickering over the other male coordinator. Kale sympathetically patted the blonde's now hunched back and whispered to Chatot.

"Does this happen often? You know…"

"Yay! Jed problems with redheads has! Big ones! Loves female, hate male! Yay!" with a shrug of colorful wings, the Flying type flew off to Hitmonchan and landed on his head. "Yay! Let him win, didn't ya?" the Fighting type shifted nervously under Chatot's knowing stare. The bird-like Pokémon remained that way for around a minute- on Hitmonchan's head, one eye closed and the other staring emptily at his fellow's face until Rebecca decided to give Steven a protective hug and pull him away from Viviane.

"Yay! Better tie Jed. Yay!" Chatot didn't even look away from the nervously fidgeting Hitmonchan, just stated it matter of factly… Before Kale and Rico couldn't even register what that meant, Jed's soda had erupted, crashed in his hand. The teen was on the table now, on all fours as well, and as he somehow produced a green headband and glue stick from his pockets, snarled at Steven.

"YOU! Stop brainwashing my sweet rose petal, who [I]gleams like a Goldeen in the moonlight who puts the neon advertisements of Goldenrod City to shame[/I]." Jed finished the second part of the sentence, which was told with frightening affection considering the mood swing, with a dreamy sigh. Rebecca hid behind Steven and whispered something about the boy protecting her from psychopaths. That apparently was the last straw as Jed produced a leaf out of his bottomless pockets, glued it to the headband and snarled as he tied it around his head.

"That's it you witch doctor! I warned you!" Jed continued growling and Kale was surprised his now four-legged friend hadn't grown canines and claws. "It's partlivin' time! GATSUUG…"

Jed had jumped off of the table, hands crooked like claws, as Chatot appeared out of nowhere in front of him and whacked him with one glowing wing while in mid-air. The colorful bird landed on top of his trainer's head, who was now a muttering heap on the ground, and announced while pruning his feathers:

"Yay! Jed saved Chatot once! Chatot owes Jed! Chatot is here to protect Jed from his own stupidity. Yay!"

The commotions had earned the little group the attention of the whole cafeteria… and it had earned Steven, to the sheer shock of the other males around, the attention of nearly every other girl there…

With their blonde and redhead friends suddenly on the defensive, Steven trying to sink in the ground and a bunch of girls who had decided to harm Jed extensively for trying to attack their new idol, Kale and Rico were the only ones left to defend the teen from being beaten by the bunch of angry girls.

With a lot of sweat, the two boys managed to drag Jed out of the crowd and place him on his chair. Chatot landed on the teen's head and looked around before whacking him once again with his wing. Twice.

"Yay! Two for flinchin'. Yay!"

Kale had just stiffened a giggle when Rico shouted on top of his lungs:

"COME ON! What do you girls find in him that I don't have?!" it seemed the lack of female attention didn't do well to his friend's psychological condition, Kale concluded. Still, he was amazed that Rico didn't flinch under the looks Steven's admirers shot at him.

"Well, he's cute." one of the girls decided to humor Jed. A tough looking guy in the crowd who Kale had seen entering with said girl cracked his knuckles at Steven…

"He's tall." a sporty-looking girl added. A boy dressed like a baseball player in the surrounding crowd clenched his fists…

"And dark." one Goth added as a pale, dark-haired boy in the public muttered something about crucifying…

"He's the best coordinator around. Except me of course." Rebecca grinned widely- she wasn't about to let others compliment Steven more. And so was Viviane… Kale had just noted how complimenting Steven was driving many boys around crazy and was glad and praying that he was fine and not…

"And he can beat anyone in a Pokémon battle!"

… crazy.

"Then I challenge Stevie here to a battle!" Kale's sudden exclamation made Viviane finally face him instead of glaring angrily at her rival. The strange look in her bright blue eyes, somewhat ashamed from what she had said, took him aback for a second but the young trainer continued nonetheless.

"We're having a battle any time you like, Steven. One-on-one, all or nothing!"

"Challenge accepted!" Kale's eyebrow rose as he noticed that Steven had finally cast up his black eyes and had met his look. The spark of determination clearly evident in the eyes of the coordinator, who was now staying upright and talking confidently, hinted to the other boy that he was in for one hell of a battle…

* * *

"Jubilife TV?! We're gonna battle in the middle of a TV station?" Kale's shocked voice was drowned in the buzz of the numerous TV shows which were on. Numerous flat screen TVs with amazing size aired different programs, some of them still in the making.

"[I]… praised the soundtrack a lot. Arturo, as the lead guitarist of the "Celesticals" what is your comment? The band seems to ace through the charts this year. And now this…[/I]"

"Because this week the station is open to visitors! And there's a show here which airs several battles every day. Live. The host just happens to be a friend of mine." Rico grinned at the group.

"Oh my gosh! I should've put on a proper dress! I can't be seen on TV wearing casual clothes." Rebecca's musing was soon cut short by Viviane.

"Settle down, Hollowhead, we'll be in the audience. Probably." with this the blonde hastily inspected her two long spiky pigtails. "At least they didn't let all the girls who wanted to support Steven and all the guys who wanted to maim him in. Right?"

"I think they missed one." Kale smiled nervously as he pointed to Jed. The teen was currently shadowing Steven and slowly flexing his fingers. Until Chatot whacked him again…

"[I]…year's participants are unusually varied. We've got trainers coming in from Johto, Kanto, even Hoenn! And there's the fact that the grandson of the guy who holds the record of youngest Sinnoh league winner to this day is in the circuit as well. Any particular news on the more notable participants, Tanya?...[/I]"

"Here we are!" Rico's voice grabbed Kale's attention again as the blond entered one of the studios. The others waited as he approached a young woman with short red hair and a blue-green beret. She seemed to be glad to see the boy and after several minutes she walked to them, shook hands, managed to explain how things in her show are done in record time and dragged them to the show's metallic stadium.

Soon everyone was in place- the gang was in the audience, first row, Kale and Steven on the opposite sides of the bluish-gray field and Kinsey, the host, was just below the gang at her own stand just above the referee.

"Hellooo, Sinnoh! We're here for our third battle today, the fourth day of our monthly "Showdown Live" week, at Pokémon Battle Watch, the show where we do in-depth analysis of hot-blooded battling trainers! Our last match was really impressive and the winner won by a literal avalanche. The benefits of training an Abomasnow, obviously. Personally I prefer Glaceon because…" the cameraman motioned at his wristwatch and Kinsey continued with a sheepish smile. "Battling here today are Steven of Eterna City, on my right, and Kale of Celestic Town, on my left. The tension is palpable here sooo…. Let the match begin!"

In twin flashes of white light, two Pokémon appeared- Kale's Starly and a black levitating orb with a face, surrounded by purple gas. The voice of the blue Pokédex in the trainer's hand (Gastly, the Gas Pokémon. With its gas-like body, it can sneak into any place it desires. However, it can be blown away by wind.) was drowned in Kinsey's somehow disappointed comment.

"The Pokémon that are battling here today are one mean looking Gastly and a… Starly. Don't judge it yet, folks, these guys have a lot of guts and notoriously hard heads! That reminds of last summer when…" the MC was cut off again by her cameraman who reminded her that the battle was on.

"Aerial Ace!" Kale wasn't wasting any time- the little brown bird was now jolting towards Gastly with streaks of slicing air swirling around. The trainer knew it wasn't the smartest thing to start with your trump card move but he wanted to test his opponent's strength… and was kind of offended by Kinsey's comment. Like she knew what awesome team he and Starly were. Besides, Steven knew most of Starly's moves already. And Kale, sadly, realized he knew none of his…

The Starling Pokémon was within meters of Gastly, who was now encircled by eerie blue fireballs upon his trainer's command. The brave bird suddenly disappeared before appearing again above the Ghost type.

"Gastly, Psychic!"

Starly's glow had reached its peak and he was just about to ram into the Gas Pokémon, when his eyes glowed blue and a strange blue aura engulfed the fireballs. They suddenly sped up, forming two crisscrossed eerie rings of blue fire around Gastly. The Flying type crashed dead on and the collision and followed explosion forced them at opposite directions. Gastly grinned mischievously while Starly panted- the attack had somehow ricocheted and while his opponent was hit as well, the bird wasn't expecting it. Both Kale and Starly's trains of thoughts were halted by Steven's confident shout.

"He's baffled now! Hypnosis!"

Twin yellow rings of energy were formed in front of Gastly before shooting towards his bird-like opponent, crisscrossing in the air. The glowing rings were about to make contact when Kale's anxious shout ripped the air apart.

"Agility! Now!"

Starly was gone in a flash and the rings harmlessly crashed in the metallic surface. Kale didn't like how things were going, not a bit. He was as good as gone if the attack had made contact.

"[I]Think, think! Three step combos- waits for a strong attack then forms a shield capable of countering the attack. Then he tries to put his opponent to sleep in the confusion. The shield goes out after the attack but since Starly gets hit two he can easily counter. Unless…[/I]"

"Starly, use the Agility boost for Wing Attack! Keep them coming from different angles!"

The Flying type was in front of Gastly In a flash. Steven had ordered the Will-o-Wisp/Psychic combo again but Starly managed to score several solid hits with his enlarged white-glowing wing before the shield was formed. The brave bird was jolting around his opponent with incredible speed and hitting him hard- the fireballs exploded upon contact but Gastly was caught in the middle- unlike Starly who moved away to his next attack point. The smirk that appeared on Steven's face didn't appeal to Kale…

"Now! Cage him!"

Gastly's eyes glowed blue again and the shield suddenly broke down on separate blue fireballs controlled by the psychic energy. The fireballs soon encircled Starly in a parody of the original shield, now doubling as a cage. The Flying type jolted around helplessly but the small explosions kept him in one place. Upon Steven's command, the twin golden rings were shot at Starly again.

"Double Team!"

Another close call. Numerous copies had just erupted from the original as the rings crashed in the fiery cage. Kale was startled that somehow, somehow Steven knew what to expect- and he had adjusted his style accordingly. Now Kale was sure that the first attack was a feint. Double Team, the attack that Steven wasn't aware of, had saved him.

"Keep circling around!"

"Shadow Ball!"

Gastly took the command to heart and for the first time in this battle, was the one to take offense. Sphere after sphere of crackling black-purple energy crashed in one copy or another. As the numbers of the circling doppelgangers slowly dwindled, Steven's smirk grew wider- he knew Kale was desperate- otherwise he wouldn't have tried to buy time. The bespectacled boy had proven to be a challenge… and Steven liked that. Only in battle, his usual shy self disappeared. Only in battle the timid boy made way for the battler hidden deep within, the one thriving on the matches, admiring the beauty and power and possibilities that contest battles provided.

* * *

"This is [I]not[/I] going good for Kale."

"Come on, Rico, I told you he was strong." Rebecca didn't even glance at the boy next to her as she wrote down another note in her decorated notebook. "He didn't ask to be our referee just because of good will. I think. Anyway, he was given the opportunity to see three of his opponents in the contest battling and revealing their styles and strategies. Not that it concerns me, I was about to challenge Blondierella here just to learn her style anyway but…"

"What did you say, Hollowhead? Like hell you'd know anything about my style!" Viviane was flushed red and about to continue but was cut off by the redhead next to her.

"And what about the electric absorption combo? Along with probably half of Jolteon's attacks?"

"Waaait a minute!" Rico pointed accusingly at Rebecca "You saying that you spied on us to gain info? And that you held back on purpose in the battle that devoured my wallet like a bunch of cheeseburgers?!"

"Come on, these are just pocket money for me." Rebecca waved him off "Besides, I didn't need to spy on you in that battle. You've already showed probably every combo you have in the dozen battles you insisted on having. Pretty stupid, actually. That's why I sticked to Spark. Before you made me use Discharge of course. But now Steven here knows his tricks- he tried to finish Kale off with one quick combo. And that Gastly is probably just for the Appeal round. There's no way he'd use the Pokémon he plans on using in the battles tomorrow, on TV!"

Rebecca flicked her ruby hair and scribbled some more before adding:

"And your genius toy that had the brains to use a Pokémon whose moves Steven knows by heart is getting his butt kicked on TV."

Maybe it was just for offending and underestimating Kale or she just liked to oppose everything Rebecca said, but the words stung Viviane in a strange way.

"You wish! Steven may be genius and all that but I've seen Kale pull out strategies you haven't even dreamt of in the thick of battle. Besides, he was forced to use Starly. Out of four moves, Blace only has two of the same type that would work properly in this battle."

Jed suddenly joined the conversation, without even looking away from the field.

"Twenty-two, Twenty-three. Man he got one! Twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-fou- got one again! Come on! I'll never count the birdies at this rate!"

Chatot's matter of fact statement voiced what everyone was thinking…

"Yay! When words are unable to describe the stupidity, only facepalm remains! Yay!"

* * *

Another Shadow Ball. Another explosion and the last clone disappeared. Gastly was now grinning deviously at the original as Kale braced for the trick he was about to pull… but Steven was a step ahead again.

"Double Team! Then Poison Sting!"

Suddenly Starly was surrounded by a dozen Gastly circling around him at blinding speeds. The eerie race suddenly stopped as the doppelgangers vanished and the original spit out a barrage of glowing purple needles. The attack slammed hard into the little brown bird and sent him crashing down.

"Shadow Ball!"

"Get out of the way! Aerial Ace!"

Starly had just shakily gotten up and was about to dodge and attack… but suddenly he clutched his wing and winced. The realization hit Kale the moment the Shadow Ball made contact. Poison. Starly was a sitting Psyduck now and Kale couldn't do nothing except shout and encourage and try to think of something. One more Shadow Ball. And another. And once again. As the umpteenth sphere of energy headed towards the Flying type, Kale could only think of one desperate gambit.

"Wing Attack! Reflect it back at him!"

It seemed crazy and impossible but somehow, someway, Starly's enlarged glowing wing halted the sphere before hurling it back. Both Gastly and his trainer were taken aback and the Ghost type's own attack exploded in his face.

"Go up! Ram into him!"

Starly, finally able to catch his breath, hastily took off.

"Poison Sting! He can't deflect that!"

"Wing Attack! Use it as a shield!"

The Flying type's enlarged glowing wings, now crossed in front of him, were like a bastion to the purple needles, which crashed harmlessly in it. Gastly was looking genuinely concerned now as Starly finally reached him and hit him with double the usual force by pulling his wings apart. It didn't end there- Starly didn't even bother to move around this time, whacking away one Wing Attack after another. Steven felt obliged not to let his advantage go.

"Psychic! Slam him hard!"

Gastly's eyes glowed blue and Starly was engulfed by the bluish aura. The brown bird was sent crashing down as Kale shouted just before his Pokémon made contact with the hard metallic surface.

"Double Team into Aerial Ace!"

For a moment the field was full of dozens of Starly again before they vanished and the original shot towards his opponent, streams of razor-sharp air around him. The hit was dead-on and Gastly didn't even have time to realize what was happening before Aerial Ace after another slammed into him.

Kale could finally breathe now. Starly was on the verge of collapsing but he had the sheer stubbornness and stamina to pull off another attack or two before Gastly passed out. Without the shield, he couldn't catch a fast moving opponent. Even Psychic required eye contact. Unless Steven had…

"Stay strong, Gastly! Perish Song!"

… a move that covered the whole area.

Starly was stopped mid-attack in his tracks, the sound waves washing over him and the horrible shrieks that put even the cries of the banshees to shame engulfing him, chaining him to an invisible torment device. Every single person in the studio covered their ears, the microphones were hastily turned off in fear of strengthening the attack, but even without a boost, the attack forced Starly to the ground.

Kale could only shout encouragingly once again, this time his words falling on deaf ears, as he watched how the black-purplish jolts of energy crackled around his Pokémon's body. Mirroring chains were around Gastly as well, even he, the attacker flinching, but continuing with the horrible, sick parody of a song nonetheless.

And yet again, Starly rose. His wings were flapping weakly and his eyes tightly shut in pain, but nonetheless, he rose. Even Kale was taken aback and a glimpse of hope illuminated the shrieking hell around him… but the bird fell again. Gastly was visibly straining now, one eye closed, and he prayed that his opponent would finally stay down. One weak flap after another, the Flying type got in the air again… but Kale knew. He knew that despite the stubbornness, the guts and the sheer force of will, Starly couldn't do it. Gastly was hit by just one powerful chain of attacks. The little bird had taken at least a dozen hits.

And with one week flap of his wings, Starly finally fell…

* * *

"Don't put yourself down, Kale. You did your best and frankly, you were close to winning."

Kale just waved off Viviane's words and nervously pushed back his black-rimmed glasses.

"Nearly won? My best? Thing is, V, that my best was just fighting for an inch, just trying to hold the barrage of combos he threw at me. Starly managed to get through just 'cause of sheer guts and not my guiding." the boy ran a hand through his black hair with a sigh. Viviane continued consoling with a harsher tone.

"Don't you even dare, mister!" raising her voice, she jabbed him with a finger "You were the one that supported Starly and helped him pull through! You were the one that faced a total mystery today and managed to shrug off nearly everything thrown at him! You were the one that forced Steven to bring out everything of his arsenal!"

"You forgot the awesome Wing Attack combos." V glanced back, surprised to see Jed who was now extending his arm to Kale "Potato sandwich?"

The other boy accepted strange treat after some hesitating and carefully took a bite. Jed just sat next to him and continued talking in strangely out of character, [I]normal/I] voice.

"Being a trainer means that you'll surely lose some times. A lot of times for that matter. There's always a bigger Seaking out there. The point is that you must think where you were wrong and the next time you face that same opponent, prove yourself as a Gyarados. Oh, Viviane, Rebecca asked me to tell you she and Steven are going back to the Center. Just left actually." Jed's voice seemed forced to stay normal at the last two sentences but the teen tried to suppress his antics because of his disheartened friend.

Kale and Viviane could just stare blankly at the older boy. The blonde was about to say something when a sudden explosion echoed in the lobby, followed by a small quake. Soon everybody was panicking and the people working at the station were trying to evacuate the guests at the station as soon as possible. The little group of friends was caught in the rush and they were just several meters away from the exit… when Kale noticed them.

Mirror images of one another, the two young men dressed in the uniform of a Galactic grunt, were shakily sprinting towards the exit. More accurately, one of them was carrying the other on his back. The twins were in an obviously bad shape- Vlad, at least Kale guessed so due to the blonde's upwards fringe position, was limping and the boy couldn't help it but be amazed that despite the injury the grunt was practically flying with his brother on his back. And Draco was looking dizzy, clutching his side where… crimson blood covered his uniform and hand.

Kale was too shocked to realize his friends and the twins were now the only ones left in the station. Quickly clutching Blace's poke ball he was about to sent him out… when Vlad just sprinted past him with a furious and desperate expression on his face.

"Traps! They were active! The whole place was booby-trapped! One after another some freakish energy weapons tried to pulverize us! And when we finally got the darned thing something awakened! It got Draco! Help him! You were the one that sent us down there!"

The group slowly traced Vlad's look… and then they finally noticed the man in a black business suit down the hall. Vivi vaguely remembered him because of his blue-and-yellow striped bowl cut, she had seen him in the crowd during the match. But why this man had stayed despite the evacuation or why Vlad was currently shouting on top of his lungs at him was beyond her.

"Did you get the bag?" the man's cold voice echoed in the lobby because the question had rendered the older twin speechless.

"With all due respect, [I]are you out of your mind, Commander[/I]? My brother was injured in the line of duty and as the commanding officer it's your job to save him! And yes, we've got the darn thing!" with this he tossed a bag Kale hadn't noticed before. The other man just caught it with one hand and soon pulled out a prolonged, hexagonal object with a blue tint from within. Admiring the cerulean glow for a second, his whispers were strangely audible in the palpable silence.

"So they did move the Plates from the original places after all…" the Commander cast up his cold blue eyes and ordered sternly "Dispose of the witnesses."

"What? Witnesses?!" Vlad turned around shakily- he hadn't noticed the kids in his panic after all- and the man's eyes widened as he recognized them. For a minute he just stared blankly and Kale could see the argument currently held in the blue orbs. Draco's weak voice broke the stalemate.

"Commander… they're jus'… some kids. They don't know… a thing. Can't we jus'…leave 'em?"

The Commander met the wounded man's gaze without blinking. For a second Kale hoped that he would agree… but he just pulled out a poke ball- the bottom half blue and the upper white with a blue water drop on the top- and tossed it. In a white flash a weasel-like orange Pokémon standing on its hind legs appeared. Everyone else could just watch, frozen in place as the blue-and-yellow haired man pressed the Plate to the Water type's back and it just fused with it with a faint blue glow. Blue aura surrounded the twin-tailed Pokémon for a moment before it opened its glowing blue predatory eyes.

"Water Gun."

The words had barely registered in the trainer's mind when a current of water, a one with a force that put even a Hydro Canon to shame, rammed into the group of three and send them crashing into the wall. Blace's poke ball, which Kale was still clutching when the devastating torrent hit, burst open to reveal the Chimchar protectively standing in front of his trainer.

"Foolish. Water Gun."

The twin-tailed Pokémon grinned maliciously and spit out another devastating torrent. The rotating water column smashed into the little Chimp Pokémon before he even had time to brace for the attack. The force of the blow lifted him in the air and slammed him into one of the columns in the lobby. Kale could only watch as the stream completely engulfed Blace and the column was covered by a webbing of cracks before snapping completely.

"[I]Blace[/I]!" the young trainer's desperate shout was drowned once again in the near-whisper of the Commander.

"It's no use. He is gone now. And you are next. Team Galactic's noble mission is more important than your lives. Rest assured that you die for the greater good."

The man's alien message had barely registered in Kale's mind when the young boy finally realized the harsh reality. This was going to be their end. There was no one that could save them now- the Purugly of the other Commander he had faced before was like an ordinary house Glameow compared to this… this predator. The Floatzel licked its lips eagerly, revealing two white gleaming fangs. Its trainer had barely ordered the attack before it was executed.

With one swift spin the weasel-like Pokémon lashed out with its twin tails. Twin blades of air, so thick that they were visible and glowing, headed to the group of three. Kale wanted to run, to shout, to hide… but he couldn't. Once again, like when the Onix attacked, the boy could only watch and wait for his immediate destiny. So many places to see, so much friends to be made, so many promises and so many dreams…

"[I]Kale, get out of the way[/I]!"

Pain erupted from the scars on his back as someone slammed into Kale full force. The boy was lifted from his feet and into the air, the sensation of falling combined with the feeling of the miniature blades of air passing his skin by centimeters and shoving every other thought out of his mind. And then he saw him- another body passing him by in mid-air, flying as well due to the inertia of slamming into Kale this hard.

Hazel eyes met vibrant silver and Kale winced when he noticed the crimson droplets oozing from his friend's shoulder. For a second, just for a second, Kale could have sworn he had seen the faintest glow of blue in the slivery orbs, before they both landed with a thud on the harsh cold ground. But instead of lying like a heap like Kale did, Jed dug his hands hard into the cracked and broken tiles. With a swift turn Kale would have never thought his friend was capable of, the teen planted the soles of his feet to what was left of the destroyed column. Kale traced his look and his heart sunk when he noticed that the second wind blade had gone astray, crushing in arc of the exit just above Viviane. The girl made a move, tried to run, but the trainer realized it was too late- the rocks were already falling…

Then the familiar colorful silhouette shot past him again- using the momentum of his own fall, Jed had jolted towards the girl… and the last thing Kale saw before the concrete chunks covered the exit was the teen pushing their female companion out of the way.

His heart skipped a beat when cold clapping reached his ears. The Galactic Commander was still in his place but he was slowly clapping his hands with a smile on his face that looked so unnatural portraying any emotion.

"That boy can make one excellent Galactic, don't you think? Fast reflexes, ability to think under pressure… and enough courage to try and push you out of the way. Not like them." the man gestured to the empty space next to him and the boy realized the twins had used the commotion to escape. "Enough is enough. I don't have anything against you so I'll make it fast. Floatzel, Ice Punch."

Just a second afterwards an orange blur was in front of Kale. The Floatzel reared back its fist, crackling with the electric-like currents of ice energy. The predator's cold eyes met the boy's and with an eerie smile the fist was trust forward…

"[I]Chiim-chaaar[/I]!"

A light brown blur came out of nowhere and slammed face-first into the glowing fist. The sheer force put behind the simple tackle pushed back both attacker and defender but while the Floatzel only snarled in frustration that it had been denied its prey, Blace was completely encased in ice, his usually oh, so lively, tail flame gone.

The boy slowly looked around, not even bothering to lift his head, and shakily got on his feet. One shaky step after another, Kale crossed the distance to his starter and glancing briefly at the eerie ice sculpture that the Chimchar was now, turned to face Floatzel and its owner. Hazel met cold blue once again. And while the hazel eyes showed only mute protest, anger and just a trace of fear, the icy orbs were as empty as ever.

"A shame."

No command was given this time. Floatzel took a deep breath before spitting out the devastating water column again…

The Chimchar could only watch helplessly through the distorted walls of his ice prison. Once again the young Fire type could only look at his trainer as he defended him, all too knowing of the consequences. But this time, this time Blace couldn't intercept the hit, couldn't just roll out from under his trainer as the claws tore deep into the boy's back. And the little monkey felt the beats of his tiny but oh, so vigorous heart that all Fire types had, quicken. The roaring storm of his heartbeat that echoed through the walls of his prison blended with the boiling volcano of emotions within him. Sorrow that he was going to lose his trainer, anger that he was unable to help him, hatred that they wanted to hurt Kale. The Chimchar could feel how with each thunderous beat his prison cracked and shifted, with each thought he wanted to attack, to hurt, to make them pay for it, to tear them apart. And as the world around him drowned in crimson, the rage inside him wanted out, the instincts of the others before him screamed vendetta, the fire in the veins of his ancestors became his own… and the uncontrolled inferno erupted.

Both Kale and the Commander were pushed back by the force of the collision that took place between them. The twisting torrent of water was met full force by a meteor-like fireball, twisting and circling around itself, the likes of which the boy had never seen before. Both attackers were shoved back as well but as the Flamewheel crashed into the wall, denting it and erupting in scorching flames that engulfed everything they touched, Kale fell on his knees. The Pokémon that appeared from inside the spinning inferno, no… no Pokémon, that thing couldn't have been his starter. He refused to believe it and yet he knew it as he gazed into the flaming red eyes that screamed only murder and hatred.

In another vicious roar the rampaging Chimchar was engulfed in the devilish flames once again and shot towards Floatzel. Kale could only watch as attacks collided and waves of fire erupted around Blace every time he made contact just to attack again and again. Bouncing of walls and columns, leaving only devouring fire and destruction in his wake, Blace just continued battering, unable to discern friend from foe.

The Commander tried another attack- Water Pulse by the looks of it- but the tsunami-like wave only halted the attacking Chimchar for a moment before it resumed its crusade. However, the attack had served its purpose. The Commander and his Floatzel were nowhere to be seen now and Blace turned to the only one in the smoke-filled lobby he could attack- Kale.

The young trainer was still on his knees and his head was spinning because of the shock and numerous aches in his whole body. The red-and-orange flames everywhere around him hurt his eyes and he could only watch as the flaming meteor headed towards him with a distorted roar. Smoke filled his lungs and Kale could barely whisper, almost plead, the words:

"Blace… stop it, please. Please…"

But the Fire type didn't, or refused, to hear him and just continued forward, now only meters way from the kneeling boy…

"[I]Blace, stop it![/I]"

The shout tore the boiling air apart and smoke filled Kale's mouth… the Flamewheel was just a meter away from him now and… Blace stopped. The fireball just skidded to a halt and the uncontrollable flames erupted forward, barely splitting in two before the could hit Kale and surrounding him with flames that scorched his clothes and licked his skin… and then they disappeared. The only flames left now were the ones engulfing the burning building.

Kale's eyes met for a moment his starter hazel ones and just as he recognized the apologetic look, his Chimchar- scorched by his own attacks- passed out in his arms. Moments later the trainer followed, the fatigue and lack of air finally catching up to him.

And the only thing left was the raging inferno…

[B]TBC[/B]


	8. Spotlight

Chapter 8:

Spotlight

[I]Once again, darkness was all he could comprehend. He didn't realize it at first but the memories soon returned, like glimpses of some long-forgotten movie. The memories of a prison so dark and an ocean so cold and empty that the most gruesome torture paled in comparison. Because loneliness hurt him the most.

Despite knowing all too well that he could neither scream nor fight back, the ethereal being tried to move, desperate to experience the slightest physical feeling. Nothing. Once again he could just drift in the lightless void all alone. He was nothing more than a mere thought of existence floating forever in the quietness of the abyss.

And yet there was something more, something bugging his sense, if he even had them still. There was some kind of light in the farthest, most faraway corner of his peripheral vision. But every time the wraith of a person tried look at it, it moved along with him and fleeted to its distant spot. It was like futile, like trying to catch the warm light of the sun, but he still tried again and again.

With each try the darkness seemed to diminish, to pale and his vision started to recognize the different shades of black around him. And with each dark shade that faded away a barely recognizable whisper appeared. His anxiousness grew and with zealot, the specter threw himself wildly at the dancing light. Flicker after flicker, he got closer and closer until the light was just before him. The shade flung forward hoping for answers and life and what he though was his fingers were inches away… when the flickering sphere erupted blindingly with a vicious roar…[/I]

* * *

"HEY, VIV, I MADE HIM MY SPECIAL TRIPLE-DECKER POTATO SANDWICH. NOW HE'LL SURELY WAKE UP!"

The teen's shout resonated from the white tiles in the small sun-bathed room. The shout was immediately followed a rather loud "Ow" as the unfortunate cook got his head smacked up by the last person in the room- a blonde girl with long spiky pigtails.

"[I]Shut up, you idiot! You're gonna wake up the whole Center![/I]" Viviane whispered with righteous fury but suddenly fell silent. On the bed next to the two trainers, Kale had finally opened his eyes. Muttering something incomprehensible about explosions, he stood up shakily and looked around while rubbing his eyes.

"Déjà vu, huh? I shouldn't make visiting hospitals after meeting every time after I meet one of those "commander" goofs a habit." the weak attempt for a joke hung in the air as Kale coughed dryly and cringed while holding his torso.

Viviane threw a worried look at Kale and then glanced meaningfully to Jed. Someone had to inform the Nurse after all and the girl didn't feel like it now. Besides, the older boy still struck her like a lunatic by the way he acted and especially by the way he acted around Rebecca. And fawning over her hollow-headed rival didn't rank high in her friendship list. Jed returned her look and his face straightened. Viv hopefully thought he was going to act normal for a change and comply…

"See? I told 'ya my triple-decker sandwich would wake him up." the girl just continued staring blankly at him. Jed just shrugged and without a care in the world, took a bite from the sandwich in his hand. It had did its job after all- Kale was awake now so why let an awesome potato-filled wonder go to waste? Viviane had turned a new shade of red- strange, he didn't remember that one when she had flipped before. It was kind of like a ruby, no- crimson? Or was it called scarlet?

Unfortunately his train of thoughts was derailed by a sudden loud slap.

"Idiot, go tell Nurse Joy Kale's awake now!" sighing, the blonde added "Why do you have to be so immature? Grow up already!"

Jed scowled at the loss of his favorite food, which he had accidently thrown through the open window, and walked away without bothering to hurry up. Sheesh, didn't Viviane realize that so much negative emotions could attract the Werepsyduck? The boy decided to have a little talk with her on the topic later and waved her off before exiting:

"Relax, Viv. Enjoy the sunny weather. Hey, I think I met a guy called Sunny Weather once? Or was it Snarky Feather?" musing over the particularly unimportant subject, Jed finally left the room while scratching his beanie-covered head.

Viviane stomped the floor and bit her lip resisting the urge to shout. Did this guy exist just for the sole purpose to annoy her? Must he be so, so… the girl just couldn't find a word that properly described the natural disaster that was Jed and so she returned to the matter at hand. Kale, despite was she thought at first, was apparently the stupid kind with the dumb hero vibe after all. He was now leaning back on the puffy pillows and trying to resist the urge to laugh. Still he nearly died back there so she could at least not be overly blunt.

Kale, despite his lungs feeling like a chimney, was barely resisting to urge to laugh out loud. Seriously, they had to include those two in the laugh treatment program. Viviane and Jed were one unique comedy duo. Now, keeping the blonde from tearing the boy to shreds- that was going to be the hard part. Suddenly, the trainer was taken aback by the sudden spark of concern in Viviane's piercing blue eyes as she looked at him. Seeing her portray even the smallest kind of gentleness still seemed alien to him. Only once before he had seen that look- in their tag battle against Rebecca and Ric…

"OW! What was that for?" Kale cried out, in shock of the sudden slap. When did she went ballistic for Pete's sake?

"That's for running of playing hero! Do you know how dangerous it is? You went off running towards two known criminals! That's even more idiotic than Jed's behavior? You could've died! What are you, suicidal or something?"

Kale just blinked rapidly and tried to digest the information. For his entire knack for strategies, he sure had a thick head, Viviane thought. Then the boy's eyes suddenly grew and his voice was once again barely a whisper as Kale spoke:

"Where's Blace?"

The blonde was taken aback- she didn't expect him to ask so soon. Nervously biting her lip, she answered.

"He's kept under constant supervision. I don't know what exactly happened but he was badly damaged. And slap me if I know why or how, but he was burned! A Fire type- [I]that[/I] burned? That's ridicu…"

She never finished because Kale had suddenly jumped off of the bed and sprinted towards the door. Jed had just opened it and was about to enter with Joy. Kale flew by just as the teen was about to take a bite from his recently whipped up potato sandwich but unfortunately, it ended up flying down the corridor. Kale just continued to sprint towards the Pokémon ward and didn't even hear Jed shouting "NOT THE SANDWICH, NOT THE SANDWICH".

[I]Splash![/I]

The younger boy's foot had just lifted from the accidently splattered pieces of bread and potato and Jed was kneeling next to his ruined snack, shrieking on top of his lungs.

"MY PRECIOUSSSSSS!"

Joy and Vivi just ran past him in chase of Kale. A second afterwards Chatot appeared in a white flash.

"Yay! At least he wasn't wearing a hospital gown! Saves him the humiliation. Yay!"

Jed had nothing left to do than follow Chatot after he flew of after the others as well.

* * *

"Is he going to be alright?" the boy's innocent question was hung in the air as Joy tried to catch a breath. They were standing just outside the recovery room and Kale was nearly glued to the enormous glass window. On the other side was Blace- the little fire monkey had numerous wires all around his body. The constant beeping of the machines next to his bed was audible only to the Chansey inside that tended to him.

"Oh, yes. Yes, he [I]is[/I] going to be fine." Joy finally answered "He was in nearly critical condition. There were signs of a rather… brutal battle all over his body. What exactly happened there?"

Kale just sighed and took a deep breath before retelling the events that took part in the Jubilife TV station and filling the blanks Jed and Viviane's version had left. The nurse just nodded before explaining.

"Well, you probably know that your Chimchar's ability is Blaze. The usual effect is a vital boost of his natural fire powers and resilience while severely injured or in dangerous situation. The thing is, sometimes, when Blaze is triggered in a situation when the Pokémon feels extreme fear or… hate, it works differently. The boost is still there, sometimes even stronger, but the Fire type loses the ability to think, to discern friend from foe. This state is unnatural, it hurts him and thus he forces pain upon himself, burns his own body unconsciously because of being unable to let go all that rage."

Kale just continued staring through the glass and didn't bother to wipe his watering eyes. Joy hesitated before continuing.

"But I must warn you… after the initial activation, this kind of abilities become easier to use and more frequent. But after a first activation of this proportions your Chimchar may be… overcome by the feelings once again and end up hurting himself even more. I warn you, Blaze is maybe the best weapon in your arsenal but you [I]must not use it again[/I]. Ever."

* * *

"She should've let me stay."

"No, Kale, she was right. You have to breathe fresh air. And besides, moping in the waiting room wouldn't have helped Blace."

Viviane let her words sink in as the group walked down one of the alleys in the Jubilife City Park. Nurse Joy had made them go outside and try to relax while the Chimchar recovered.

"Hey, guys? How did you get us out actually?" Kale suddenly asked. Viviane swiftly explained, trying to forget about what she had felt when Kale was left alone with that maniac.

"Well, Jed managed to push me out of the way and get out himself," the blonde paused uncertainly here. Glancing at the goofy teen next to her, who was now counting the various Bug types in the air, she realized that Jed of all people had kept his cool back then. He was the one that saved them from certain death… he was the one that was the hero and pushed her out of the way. Viviane decided that she would at least cut him some slack. A little.

"We were very scared 'cause there was no way we could get in to save you," the girl continued "and then we heard the shouts and shrieks and the fire started to engulf the building. Then Jed suddenly screamed "we can't get in on time" and ran to somewhere," Vivi paused again, remembering the fear and anger she felt at the thought that Jed had left her alone. She knew now that he would have never left his friends now but back then… things seemed different. "He got back with Steven soon after."

"Steven?!" Kale suddenly interrupted, unable to comprehend how that shy, spying girl-magnet could have helped. The boy was surprised at the negative things he thought about the boy… until he remembered that said coordinator had beaten him in his own game.

"Yeah, Stevie-boy," Jed suddenly joined the conversation. He cringed at the memory of asking his [I]rival[/I] for the redhead's love to help but continued the story nonetheless. "Y'see, he has a Kirlia. The teleporting Psychic types, remember? He and Rebecca had headed to the Centre like five minutes before so I caught up with them and dragged Steven to the station. His Kirlia got you and Blace out in no time. I overheard him discussing the health of his Pokémon with Nurse Joy while I prepared myself a sandwich," Jed exclaimed in answer to Kale's unasked question.

"Kay, we split up here," Viviane suddenly announced. Kale couldn't help but fear what was the problem this time:

"Now what, Viv? What did we say, do or think to anger you? Again?" the boy sighed with annoyance.

The blonde threw him a look that screamed "how can you be so stupid":

"The contest, genius, remember? It starts at 7 o'clock sharp and it's 4 in the afternoon now. I have to hit the shops for a dress and get ready. Hollowhead's far ahead of me already. You boys take our things to Kale's parent's flat and clean it if needed. Then go buy some groceries 'cause I doubt there's edible food since now one lives there now. Meet me at the contest backstage at 6:40. Oh, and boys, don't bother buying meet, I'm vegetarian."

Viviane was gone in a flash and after a whole minute, Jed was the first one to speak.

"No meat? But what about us?"

* * *

"Give me the hairbrush!"

"?!"

"Magmar? Magmar? WHERE'S MAGMAR'S POKE BALL?!"

"Sandstorm, then Dragonbreath. Or was it the other way around?"

Shouts and exclamations echoed in the crowded backstage room as coordinators and Pokémon alike ran around rehearsing moves and making desperate last-minute preparations. Kale and Jed, who had just entered the room, felt out of place among the dressed-up coordinating crowd. The two boys hastily looked around but their female companion was no where to be seen. Just as they were getting desperate a familiar voice caught their attention:

"I'm glad you're not injured, Kale."

Upon closer inspection the duo indentified the speaker as Steven. He was now sporting a buttoned-up formal long coat with frills at the edges of his sleeves. The right side was blue but the other black- his pants followed the same theme but with reversed colors. The black blue-rimmed mask covering his eyes didn't help recognizing either.

"Oh, hi, Steven. Didn't recognize you at first. Look, thanks for getting us out back at the sta…" Kale's try at thanking the coordinator was interrupted by loud squeak as someone glomped Steven.

"Oh, am I glad to see you, Steven! I like your outfit. It's so [I]mysterious[/I]," Rebecca purred before continuing "And nice touch with the mask. You did it so only I could recognize you, right? That's so sweet of you!" the girl's cooing drowned Steven's whisper. Something that sounded suspiciously like "I don't like being the centre of attention."

Rebecca finally let go of her fellow coordinator and faced the two other boys with a superior expression.

"And where's Blondierella? Sniffing around and trying to snag my Steven?" she snickered and flicked her waist-long ruby red hair. The evening dress with the color of cherry blossoms she was wearing complimented her hair. There was a golden tiger printed on the expensive-looking fabric and Kale noticed Rebecca was taking full use of the dress' side-slit. An action undoubtedly directed at Steven. Not that Jed realized it.

Kale closed his friend's hanging mouth rather harshly and was about to bark some answer at Rebecca when Viviane's mocking sing-song voice interrupted him.

"Don't worry, Hollowhead. I can't snag something from you if you do not have it."

Just then the blonde came into view- her contest attire bore a resemblance to her usual daily clothes. The black gold-rimmed top left her shoulders bare, its straps hanging loosely around her hands where the long black detached sleeves ended. The sleeves themselves doubled as fingerless gloves, Kale concluded tracing her slim hands. The place of her miniskirt was taken by a similar, albeit longer one, black with layers of spiky yellow frills. The hazel eyes unconsciously found themselves treading lower and following the black socks that seemed to start just an inch or two below the skirt down.

"It's okay, Viv. He's just enthralled by your appearance." Jed's booming voice brought Kale back into reality and the boy realized he had once again zoned out while studying Viviane's figure. The realization that this time it was not just because of some Jolteon hit Kale along with Jed's crushing back-pat. And as if just to increase his humiliation, Viviane smirked:

"I asked how I looked, trainer boy. Checking me out again?" the sweet poison in her voice promised lots of pain later on. And man, did she punch like a Hitmonchan…

Just then the monitors turned on and Marion, the auburn-haired MC took the stage.

"Hello and welcome, dear guests, to our annual Jubilife City contest!" she announced from beneath the spotlight "We are gathered here to witness the beauty and magnificence of coordinating in the fourth contest of this year's circuit. Both seasoned competitors and beginning coordinators will shine tonight so, without further ado, let the show [I]begin[/I]!"

The spotlight shifted to the entry just behind the arena and a running figure soon came into view. Everyone of the little group of acquaintances and rivals watching from the backstage gasped. The tuxedo-clad person with greasy slicked-back blonde hair was eagerly familiar.

"The first contest tonight is Jubilife City's own [I]Rico[/I]! " Marion announced again "He, along with the other contestants, is going to be evaluated by our honorable jury- Mr. Contesta, Mr. Sukizo and Jubilife's own Nurse Joy. This is Rico's debut, to let's hear you cheering him on!"

The audience erupted into clapping despite the occasional snicker at the coordinator's hairdo. Rico didn't seem to notice and he swiftly threw up the capsule Poke ball in his hand.

"It's fightin' time, Kricketune!"

A ring of flames burst around the sphere and a white light surrounded by levitating music notes appeared into the center. With a flash, Kricketune appeared and scattered the music notes that started soaring around the ring of flames. The red mustache-bearing Pokémon struck a kung-fu-like pose and his black cape-like wings twitched in anticipation.

"Let's start the show with your Fury Cutter attack!" Rico giddily ordered.

The Cricket Pokémon took the order to heart and as his red scythe-like forearms glowed he started to slash around. Kricketune spun and hopped in a pattern that somewhat resembled kung-fu routine. Embers were scattered around when he swiped the ring of fire and notes burst into sparks when he struck them. Everything seemed fine and the crowd watched with interest. Rico decided to proceed now that he had the needed attention.

"Oh yeah! Like in the kung-fu movies! Kricketune, prepare the stage with X-Scissor!"

The red cricket-like Pokémon jumped as high as he could and after a roll mid-air swiftly crisscrossed his scythes. Their glow changed to purple and a glowing "X" shot forwards, crashing into the ground and scattering the ring of flames. Kricketune landed surely on his stubby legs with only the music notes left circling around him.

"Let's finish it! Hit it!"

The Bug type positioned his scythes in a manner well-know to everyone. But just as the crowd prepared for the soothing music, the Pokémon rubbed his forearms together… and the eerie shrieks that erupted nearly burst the audience's eardrums.

The bluish-white ripples in the air were clearly visible as the sound waves resonated in the hall. The music notes hovering around became jagged in a comical fashion as soon as the Screech reached them. After what seemed hours of torture, the Bug type finally stopped and bowed down with a pleased expression. Rico followed suit hesitantly. It took around a minute for Marion to be able to comment.

"Wow! What a… unique performance, dear guests! Certainly a breath-taking appeal. Let's hear what our judges have to say!" A rather dizzy Contesta was the first to answer.

"What an innovative way to debut! This boy knew what we would all expect and surprised us with something new and fresh."

"Remarkable!" Sukizo added with a stoned expression.

"This Kricketune is certainly well-raised. Look how happy he is to perform."

"Well, you heard the judges. Now on with the next contestant…"

* * *

"What an appeal was that?! Risking with such a move in your debut! Pretty dumb, really." Viviane scolded her fellow blond, sitting on one of the sofas in the backstage room. Rico twitched nervously and glanced down to the happy Kricketune in his arms.

"He-he, y'know… it was kinda not supposed to happen. Kricketune has some minor…issues with the move Sing. We rehearsed again and again and it always ended up a Screech. I thought it would work tonight. In a dramatic fashion and like in the movies y'know." his Pokémon frowned in shame.

Viviane and Kale looked dumb folded and Jed was currently munching on another potato-related food while watching the appeals with gusto. Only Steven tried to cheer his fellow coordinator up…

"Well…the effects were nice."

…until Rebecca voiced her opinion.

"A Kricketune who can't even sing. Pathetic." She briefly glanced at the monitors before chirping "Gotta go, sweeties. I have a date with fame now."

* * *

"And now, let's hear you applaud… [I]Rebecca[/I]!"

Marion's voice had just stopped echoing around when the redhead walked into the spotlight with a steady walk. All bridled up, of course. The coordinator took a steady deep breath and enjoyed the feel of everyone's eyes following her every movement. With a kiss good luck, she threw her capsuled poke ball high into the air.

"It's show time, Pachirisu!"

Along with the usual white flash, numerous pink foam bubbles burst from the sphere. One very ecstatic Pachirisu landed in the centre and soon she was spinning round and round like a top.

"Get ready…[I]go[/I]!" Rebecca shouted just as her Pokémon reached the peak of rotation. Numerous electric currents shot up and swirled around as the EleSquirrel Pokémon spun on her fluffy tail. Upon contact with the neon blue thunder beams the pinkish bubbles exploded in a dazzling array of sparks and water droplets.

The audience "ooh"-ed and "wow"-ed and Rebecca proceeded with a smirk.

"Let's show our love to the audience, Pachi! Sweet Kiss!"

The Electric type slowed down but kept enough speed to blow air kisses in all directions. Numerous bright red hearts hovered in the air, bathing in what was left of the sparkly particles of the previous combination.

"Swift!"

The command was obeyed immediately and surprisingly steadily, Pachirisu halted to a stop. Taking a deep breath, the pink squirrel-like Pokémon exhaled a stream of bright rotating stars. The neon yellow stars shot straight up and upon reaching a certain height, they fell down like a spring rain. The golden star fall met with the hovering hearts mid-air and exploded like fireworks in various cherry colors.

"Let's wrap it up! Spark, full throttle!"

The Electric type was more than happy to oblige. With all the inherent energy of her species, Pachirisu immediately darted forward. More and more blue sparks covered her body as she circled around her trainer again and again. The air, which was full of sparkly particles, swirled along with the stream of blue lightning.

"[I]Now[/I]!"

Pachirisu suddenly broke the circle and shot towards one of the columns at the entry. She bounced off the moment she made contact and leapt high above Rebecca. The stream of lighting followed her and just as it had reached the little squirrel, Pachirisu squeaked happily before scattering the electricity in the air. The audience roared in approval as soon as Pachirisu landed on her trainer's extended hand.

"What an appeal! And only in her second contest! I wonder how would the judges rate this dazzling performance?" Marion pondered with the usual attitude of a MC.

"Well, Marion, I especially liked how she built up her performance gradually and used the lasting effects of her previous combinations." Contesta commented with his usual professional tone.

"Very remarkable!" Sukizo seemed to consider the appeal worthy of two whole words…

"I see that this Pachirisu is very well cared for. And her species hyperactive cuteness was able to shine in this appeal." Joy summed up.

* * *

"Good luck, Mr. Mystery. I hope I have not intimidated you with my appeal," the slight purr of the girl's words echoed in the dim corridor connecting the backstage and the arena. Rebecca had just met with Steven on her way back, while his was heading towards the field. "After all, we are rivals from now on." the redhead bathed her long eyelashes one last time before walking off.

Steven didn't even bother answering- the girl seemed dead set on bugging him. But for all the annoyance and humiliation she was, Rebecca was one tough coordinator, Steven gave her that. There was a slight tinge in his stomach but the black-haired boy continued on nonetheless. The light at the end of the tunnel was getting closer and closer and Steven could hear Marion's introduction. It was his turn to prove himself…

"Ghastly, we're [I]on[/I]!"

The ball which was thrown as soon as Steven stepped on the stage opened with the biggest burst for the evening. Smoke covered the whole stage and the audience tensed in anticipation. Some of the ones that had leaned forwards pulled back with a yelp as two neon purple eyes appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the smoke cloud. An ethereal silhouette appeared soon after the glowing orbs.

"Psychic!"

With a ghostly cry the Pokémon inside the smoke got covered in a multicolored glow for a second… before the glow burst outwards and the smoke was washed away and the air was illuminated with all the colors of the rainbow. Ghastly chuckled mischievously and bridled up in front of the audience. He had no time for showing off however, because another command followed soon after. The Ghost type exploded in numerous copies of himself which scattered and started circling the contest hall. The audience watched in awe as the gas orbs flew around and raced with the spotlights, managing to stay in the shadows with only their glowing eyes indicating where they were.

"Will-o-Wisp followed up by Psychic!"

The only Ghastly that had stayed in one place, the original, conjured twin rings of blue fire balls around him. His eyes changed their glow to blue and soon the fire balls were engulfed in a psychic aura. Numerous of them shot outward and encircled the fading images of the Double Team the way they did the original. Now the audience could see the pattern of movement and the Gas Pokémon looked like a sun surrounded by its circling fiery blue planets.

"Ghaaast…" the tired sigh reached only Steven's ears but the boy cringed nonetheless. He knew this combo always took its toll on Ghastly but the coordinator knew that it was their time. Steven had decided that this contest was going to be theirs- no matter the difficulties. Still, he knew his partner couldn't keep on much more.

"Okay, Ghastly! Let's finish it. Give it all you've got!"

The Pokémon swiftly obeyed, dreaming for the good rest after the appeal. Just a [I]little[/I] more… He let one more eerie shriek and the fire rings fused together and the numerous planets turned into a dozen Ghastly made of fire. They all bolted towards the original and seemingly smashed into him as one. The blazing figure of a mighty ghost formed of the blue flames and roared before dispersing with a blast.

The Ghost type dizzily hovered into Steven hands and the teen didn't even hear the judges' comments as he thanked his faithful partner for his work.

* * *

"Do you think we did the right thing by switching to contests, Jolteon?" the uncharacteristically uncertain voice's words hanged in the still air of the corridor. The dim light of the "Tunnel of Fame", as she had heard the more experienced coordinators call it, seemed to be specifically designed for moments like that. Moments when the contestant only wanted to sit still for a second and think before walking into the blinding spotlight and being engulfed by the roar of the audience.

Viviane was doing just that and one could barely recognize her voice as she leant back and talked to the poke ball in her hand.

"I'm sure you did. A trainer has to follow the path he feels is the right one. Gramps used to say that a lot." the cheerful voice took the girl aback and she swiftly turned to face the speaker. No matter who it was, whoever was sneaking behind her in a moment of weakness like that deserved a good pounding.

"Settle down, Viv. Being pessimistic won't help 'ya."

The blonde was slightly shocked to see her two companions- Kale leaning on the wall across her and Jed munching French fries next to him- and just settled to grunting:

"What do you two want?"

"What do we want? You serious?" Kale pushed back his glasses and laughed wholeheartedly "We're here to cheer you up of course."

The sincere response seemed alien to Viviane.

"I'm used to working alone."

"Then get used to being backed up," the black-haired boy retorted " 'cause we're going to be up there in the audience, cheering for you. That's what friends are for, right?"

"The more the merrier as I always say." Jed chirped between bites.

"Everybody says that, Jed." the other boy ridiculed.

"But I'm saying it now."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you alwa… HEY!"

Both boys yelped and held their heads in pain. As she had watched them bicker over something so small and funny, Viviane couldn't help but laugh inwardly. To her utter shock, she realized she was thinking how silly were [I[her[/I] boys. It seemed those traveling circus performers were growing on her after all. And that was pretty upsetting for a usual lone wolf like her. So the blonde settled for just slightly bonking their heads and teased with a giggle:

"Come on, you big babies. I barely touched you."

"At least you're laughing now," the older boy commented.

"Yeah, it seems your little speech worked after all." Viviane snickered before heading towards the arena. She could hear Marion's umpteenth intro speech. She was up now and her heart skipped a beat as she headed towards the light at the end of the corridor.

"Hey, Viv?"

The blonde turned on her heels, both irritated and thankful for the intrusion, and raised her eyebrow.

"When you're up there on the stage," Kale paused uncertainly before continuing "remember that only two things exist at that moment. You and your Pokémon. Just keep that in mind and… do your best."

Hazel eyes met blue as the boy finished uncertainly and headed back after Jed without even waiting for an answer. Viviane stood there for a second and her gaze lingered on the place where Kale was just moments before. Nodding confidently more to herself than to anyone else, Viviane broke into a sprint and bolted towards the arena entry. Marion had just called out her name and this time, this time it was her time to shine.

* * *

"Time to shine, Jolteon!"

The red-and-white sphere flew high into the air and burst with a greenish-white flash. The yellow fox-like Pokémon that appeared from inside was surrounded by green lightning bolts. She landed gracefully on the floor and upon her trainer's command, the lightning bolts were quickly absorbed in her spiky collar. The audience watched with peeked interest as the lion-like mane changed color and turned to a different shade of green with every electrical crackle. The regal fox proudly looked around as stray streams of lightning illuminated her slender body.

"Let's keep it up! Hidden Power!"

The Electric type purred in agreement and her body suddenly glowed with a yellowish light. The new glow complimented the various shades of green of the collar and the Pokémon seemed like a Legendary out of the pages of some ancient tome. Dozens upon dozens of white-greenish bubbles surrounded Jolteon out of nowhere and as they sped up, the bubbles circled around the whole stage in different patterns.

"Let's add a twist to it, shall we?"

Just a second after Viviane's hint the Hidden Power changed pattern and several current of bubbles left the main formation, crashing with each other high in the air. The audience was enamored and Viviane quickly took the opportunity.

"Pin Missile! It's time for the fireworks, Jolteon!"

The Lightning Pokémon growled approvingly and her collar glowed even brighter before numerous bolt-shaped missiles shot upwards from it. The missiles glowed neon green with the color of the previously absorbed electric and exploded like real fire works when they collided with the bubbles of the Hidden Power. Happy by the multi-colored spectacle she had managed to create, the girl issued the last move with a smile.

"Let's end it with a blast, Jolteon! Charge Beam!"

The yellow fox jumped as high as she could and with a menacing growl electricity covered her whole body. Soon the yell lightning covered her whole and the only thing the audience could see was the golden silhouette in mid-air, bright as a miniature sun. Thunder beams shot out and swirled around the figure before Jolteon, with one last roar, released all the gathered energy and bathed the whole arena in light.

* * *

"[I]Hello again, Sinnoh! We're back here at Jubilife's Contest Hall to learn who are the eight lucky contestants who get the chance to fight for the prestigious Jubilifie Ribbon![/I]" the whole backstage room was mute as the contestants followed Marion's every move on the various screens. [I]The judges evaluated all the appeals professionally and have finally decided who's worthy of proceeding to round two. And so, without further ado, the eight coordinators who advance to the battle rounds are…[/I]"

Everyone's heart skipped a beat as eight empty slots appeared on the monitor and the pictures of the numerous participants were shuffled. After what seemed hours, the first slot was finally permanently filled with a "ding".

"[I]…Charles![/I]" the Magmar kid from before punched the air and whooped.

"[I]…Steven![/I]" the group's shy acquaintance sighed in relief and thanked his ghostly partner once again.

"[I]…Caitlin![/I]" the hairbrush girl started jumping up and down.

"[I]…Rebecca![/I]" the redhead flicked her long hair and stuck her tongue at Viviane.

"[I]…Viviane![/I]" the blonde smiled confidently and stuck her tongue at her rival as well.

"[I]…Mortimer![/I]" the nervous poke ball guy seemed on the verge of collapsing.

"[I]…Jonathan![/I]" a plump kid on the far side of the room grinned.

"[I]Aaaand…. Rico![/I]"

The last announcement left the little group of friends and rivals speechless. Even the two witty girls seemed too dumbstruck to comment. Luckily, Chatot popped out out of nowhere to voice the mutual opinion.

"Yay! I've heard of "so bad it's good", but that's just ridiculous. Yay!"

Just then Rico, who had been sobbing in a corner up until then, jumped up and swirled around with his equally happy Kricketune in a victory dance. He was forced to stop however, because Marion spoke again.

"[I]Now that we know the eight lucky contestants, it's time for a short break while they prepare for the next round. Stay tuned, Sinnoh, because things are just picking up. The next stage is the contest battles. The clouds are gathering and I sense it's going to get hot here tonight when the storm strikes. We're in for fierce confrontations as the rivals clash tonight. Stay tuned![/I]"

[B]TBC[/B]


	9. Backstage Doubts

_**Chapter 9:**_

_**Jubilife Night Showdown**_

_"Protect!"_

The hasty command echoed for the umpteenth time since the first battle for the night had started. The audience cheered or booed depending on who they were rooting for as a jagged stream of electricity was halted by the emerald protective bubble. All in all, the status quo seemed way too permanent for Viviane's tastes.

The blonde had the distinct "honor" of being in the first battle of the Battle round- certainly not a thing that helped her to overcome newly returned lack of confidence. Her opponent seemed to go through night and day chanting the mantra "Protect! Lightscreen!". The girl was sick of hearing these commands mainly because- for her unpleasant surprise- luck was on Charles' side. His Magmortar had the uncanny ability of pulling off a successful protect 7 out of 10 times and adding up the fiery-themed bulky humanoid's counter attacks, things were not going good for Vivi. Not that they were going bad either.

And that was what bugged her the most. The last four minutes of her life seemed like a decade and a half with all the repetitive action. She attacked, he blocked and countered. She attacked again, he failed to counter and the cycle continued. The parody of a dance was reflected in their points as well. Neither of them had managed to keep more points than his or her opponent for more than twenty seconds. And her points once again had dropped below Charles' after the last exchange of attacks. The thing was, there was just a minute left. And Viviane didn't intend to lose just because she was dancing the losing part of their dance when the clock stopped. It was time for some decisive action.

"Don't attack this time. Use Charge instead." it wasn't the nervous tone of his trainer but the command itself that confused the yellow rodent. His favorite strategy was clobbering his way through. And since the annoying fire blob on the other side of the field had proved mostly resistant to that particular "strategy", it was an understatement to say the small mouse-like Pokémon detested his opponent. Nonetheless, he obeyed the blonde and after one distinctively feral growl, self-accumulated electricity started to gather in his red cheek pouches.

"Okay, Magmar, now's the chance. Fry it!" Charles, too into the battle to even think why his opponent wasn't attacking like always, was quick to take action. His Fire type partner was as well and not a second too soon a pillar of raging flames was heading towards the yellow rodent.

The smirk on the young coordinator's face was barely visible as she nearly whispered the words "Pikachu, Agility."

The Electric type, glad to be on the offensive again, grinned maliciously and just before the fire scorched the place where he was standing, vanished in a spray of stray sparks.

"What the…" Charles was too dumbstruck by the sudden change in the girl's strategy to hear how she shouted "Iron Tail! The leg!"

The audience and the judges were still trying to comprehend the sudden change of pace as Pikachu swooped in out of nowhere and his glowing tail whacked one of Magmar's legs. The Fire type crashed on the ground just after the rodent had slid below him and had jumped into the air. Viviane, albeit skeptical about this kind of "superstitious crap" as she referred it to, decided to give it a try and crossed her fingers.

"Now to use the jolts you've packed! Thunderbolt!"

Her shout was still echoing as another joined in.

"Magmar, Protect! _Now!_"

The Pikachu, still in mid-air, let out the augmented lighting out of his body with a sadistic smirk on his face as the still lying on the ground Magmar tried to conjure the protective bubble once again. And succeeded. As the lighting bolt jumped off the energy shield, Viviane cursed under her breath. Figures the Universe would kick her in the rear once she tried giving some positive thoughts a chance. But there was no time for contemplating the ways Karma liked to torture her because Charles had finally reached the conclusion it was time to end this after all.

"Flamethrower, full throttle!"

The Fire type didn't even bother to stand up, just inhaling at maximum capacity and letting out of his beak the infernal stream once again. The smirk finally faded out of the yellow rodent's face once he realized he was in mid-air with no way out.

"Iron Tail! Try splitting the stream!"

His trainer's hysterical shouts, music to his ear like always, managed to give him enough confidence for the nearly-suicidal move. The jagged tail glowed brightly and Pikachu had the time for one single spin to add inertia to his counter attack.

"Chuuuu-pika!"

The flames crashed violently with the improvised blade and to even the Electric type's own surprise, they gave in and split in two. The raging fire engulfed his form and as the emanated heat and stray embers scorched his fur, even the little bruiser was afraid to think what would the result had been if they had hit.

_Diiiiing!_

The siren unleashed the roar of the audience as Marion announced the winner with the ever-present smile on her face. Scratching between his long ears the rodent now residing in her arms, Viviane threw a look at the screen. Her points were just above Charles'. It appeared he was leading before the last moves were played. "Maybe the Universe doesn't hate me _that _much," were the thoughts that crossed the blonde's mind as she exited the arena all bridled up and with a distinctive smirk on her face.

* * *

"Almost too easy. Almost."

It was honestly surprising for Steven. His battle with Jonathan had come and gone in a flash, like how he used to dream for days what he'd do on Christmas day and then have it all blitz past him in what seemed like mere seconds. For all his shyness, a trait he never liked in his character, Steven knew he was good with Pokémon. A lot so. But nevertheless, the way the boy with the mask and his partner waltzed past the type advantage of their opponent, the fact they were facing a coordinator who had been victorious twice already and a ton of other obstacles, filled him with pride.

A strange kind of pride that felt distant to him. Since he was little, Steven never liked being the center of attention. Not that neither he nor his parents knew why. It was just the way he was. The last kid of the bunch to run and start cuddling a stray Pokémon roaming the streets, the best at hide-and-seek because of the fact that he was used to trying to sink in the ground 24/7 and the one that always stuttered with a face redder than a Flareon when it was his turn to speak at the kindergarten play. Not that he didn't love playing with others or didn't adore cuddly or cool Pokémon- he just liked doing it alone.

And then everything changed when his older brother came barging in one gloomy morning in his room and announced Steven was going to be a trainer. Angered as any incredibly shy boy could be Steven had tried protesting. His sibling however, wanted to hear nothing of it- not that Steven was surprised. Ray was the kind of guy every boy in the neighborhood wanted to group up to be. Smart, good-looking, popular… sickeningly so to Steven. Not that he envied his brother. Not in a million years! Ray's popularity with the girls was the reason the then would-be coordinator let his hair grew long and obscure at least some of his face. Being recognized as the little brother of the resident Prince Charming didn't help being inconspicuous. Of course, the idea ricocheted because now the little sisters of Ray's admirers started dubbing him "mysterious" and "sweet".

Things were getting out of hand and Steven was desperately searching for an exit. In fact, Ray was the one that stumbled upon the shy boy trembling in front of the mirror with scissors in his hands… and a bowl on his head. That kind of wacky hairdo would have surely made the girls doubt he was related to the glamorous Ray. Unfortunately, said Ray didn't like the idea one bit.

And so on the next day, Ray was in Steven's room announcing his and his parent's decision. The journey was a great way for the boy to meet and befriend peers, go to places and if being at least some good at it- catch some Pokémon and earn some prizes for bragging rights. Seeing that even the promise of having a Pokémon wasn't helping, Ray just sighed, admitted their parents still haven't decided on his idea and gestured to something, or rather, someone, to enter the room.

The little green-and-white little humanoid that entered looked carefully towards Steven, or at least he though it did. The Pokémon's eyes were completely obscured by its green bowl cut. The red antennas on its head twitched a little and then it joyfully jumped into Ray's lap. Despite wanting to just spend the following year as an ordinary kid and not journeying around Sinnoh, Steven couldn't help being drawn towards the newcomer. As every child his age, Pokémon sparked a considerable interest after all. The boy slowly lifted his hand to pet the little guy… and said little guy shrieked in his own language and hid behind Ray.

Steven's heart sunk- and he was surprised by it. All his life he had tried staying away from others. And now that someone really didn't wanted hanging around with him, the boy felt a tinge of regret for wishing it. Without even looking at the face hidden behind the raven-colored veil, Ray just placed the little Psychic type on the bed and beamed a smile before leaving.

"Nah, don't worry. He'll like you when he gets to know you."

"Wow, Viv, you never told us you're specializing in Electric types."

"And why do you think I should've told you?" the blonde's tone clearly showed Kale they were back to the starting point. Being under the crushing glare of those clear blue eyes didn't help the bespectacled trainer to answer in a normal way either.

"Well… uhm… we're all… friends, right? And you could've mentioned to me and Jed somethi… oh, for Pete's sake! Trainers specializing in something brag about it all the time! You're ruining traditions here, girl!"

The way Viviane's eyebrows twitched and especially her clenching and unclenching fists showed Kale he and his big mouth had once again crossed the line. Luckily, Jed was there to rescue him. Without even knowing which way was up of course.

"Say, Viv, are his stripes going from the left to the right or are they the other way around?"

The black-and-yellow clad girl just let out an exasperated sigh and slapped away the teen's arm. Scratching Pikachu between his long years, the coordinator cooed in what seemed an impossible way for her.

"My little brave hero is _very_ overprotective of me. He might bite you if you try touching me or him. Isn't that right, my wittle cuddly bear?"

The picture before his eyes made Kale's mind go into blue screen of death territory. It was one thing hearing the usually calm as a raging Gyarados girl say such blasphemous things, but seeing it? The world was seemingly coming to an end- and he didn't even have the chance to win his first badge yet. Bugger! Jed however, used to seeing extraordinary things, usually in his head, just noted:

"Man, those potatoes must have been really out of date."

The crystalline laughter that followed, so different than the usual snicker, didn't help the two boys' mental conditions improve. Jed started thinking that maybe the mushrooms he found in the Beedrill's Pass weren't edible after all.

"Oh my, it's so easy messing with you two. You really thought I was getting mushy?" Viviane's familiar smirk got back on her face before being substituted for a false angelic smile "Oh, please!"

As she batted her eyelashes to make them feel even worse, Kale felt like screaming again. He thought his uncle, coincidently, or maybe not, another Electric type trainer was bad. Viviane wasn't just worse. She was _the_ worst. They were trying to be friendly with her, they cheered her on when she needed it the most and how did she repay them? By mocking them! The nerve of that…

"Nah, I bet you really like to cuddle him. You're a girl after all, you like cuddly little things like him."

Smiling, Jed reached over to pet the yellow rodent. Only to find three of his fingers between two rows of sharp teeth.

"Told ya he bites," Viviane smirked as Jed yanked back his hand and started waving it in circles. The electric rodent just curled tighter around the blonde's shoulders and sniggered. The teen locked his narrowed eyes with the critter and slowly raised his arm. Viviane's eyebrow rose as she considered beating the life out of Jed if he even dared harming Pikachu. Jed suddenly moved his arms with blinding speed.

"STAY AWAY, YOU DEMON!"

The whole room was bewildered as the oddly dressed teen stumbled back making a cross with his fingers and shouting at the innocent looking little Pokémon.

The whole ordeal was forgotten like magic after the coordinators that were still competing heard Marion's familiar reassuring voice.

_"What a battle, folks! What a battle! Caitlin showed us how it's really done. She and her Abomasnow advance to the next round like the avalanche they really are. And now, be ready for the next, final battle for this round- Rico versus Rebecca!"_

All eyes turned to the loud blond with greasy, slicked back hair, and the young teen dressed in the colors of cherry blossoms, that brushed aside Rico on her way out.

* * *

The Tunnel of Fame.

A rather appropriate name in Rico's opinion. The first time he did the Walk, as Marion had referred it to when instructing the debutants, the blond boy didn't have time to think. He was running purely on autopilot back then. No matter how much he liked bragging and showing of, being evaluated in front of an audience by judges and the like for the first time wasn't the most confidence-boosting thing in the world. But he had pulled it of. Somehow. If barely.

No, no, no! He shouldn't be thinking about that. He needed positive thoughts, not doubts that he would screw it up again. He was going to get out there, do his thing and win. At least it was a battle this time. Coordinator or not, he still felt more confident when whacking around his opponent.

As the flickering light illuminated his way, if just barely, Rico thought how far he had actually gone from the knucklehead constantly bugging the old man owning the nearly-dilapidated dojo. The prune juice loving coot was a hard nut to crack but eventually he had caved in. That was, of course, after he made Rico prove himself by filling a bottomless bucket with water. Something about being creative and thinking outside of the box.

Soon it became clear to the overly-eager boy that box or no box, the bucket wasn't going to be filled. He was grounded for a whole month but "borrowing" his neighbour's burner and several hammers did miracles. The bucket was filled. Okay, it was more of a cone by the time he had finished with it and was leaking from more places than a watering pot but that was nothing several meters of duck tape couldn't fix.

The day the old man agreed to teach the boy was the day he met _him_. Hitmonchan. Actually it was Tyrogue back then. And maybe the way they met was the reason Rico was taken in as an "apprentice". Well, that's beside the point. These words crossed the tux-wearing blond as he clutched the red-and-white miniature sphere in his hand. He could see the stage already- or at least the blinding light at the end of the corridor. There were only two visible silhouettes waiting for him. The taller one, that of a slender woman who he could just picture smiling as always, was apparently talking again. What about, he could only guess. All the words were drowned in the sea of cheers and the loud current of thoughts currently raging inside the coordinator's mind. The other figure was facing his way, hand on her hip, and Rico knew there was an arrogant, superior smirk on that otherwise angelic face of hers.

Well, cute girl or not, she was his opponent now. He owed her a battle. And a good one at that. The old man had thought him to treat your opponent the way you wanted to be treated.

Being a fighter is a way of life. Fighting, true fighting, is a form of art. And we all create our art in a myriad of ways. That was the first lesson Rico's sensei managed to get past his thick head.

He had found his way, his own art. And as an artist, it was high time he created his first masterpiece. The poke ball enlarged with a soft clicking sound. As the comforting feel of the familiar surface left his palm and the sphere flew upwards, Rico knew he was living the dream. He had reached the end of the Tunnel. He had reached Fame.

"It's fightin' time, Hitmonchan!"

* * *

"Fire Punch!"

"Defend Order!"

The tan humanoid had jolted forward in a blur, gloved fist literally ablaze, and for a fraction of the second Rebecca thought her partner was too slow to defend herself. The redhead's theory was, fortunately, proven wrong as her yellow wasp-like Pokémon was surrounded by little critters formed by merged beehive cells. However, the defensive wall stood only for mere seconds- when the inertia of the run backed up the tan boxer the living shield shattered into dozens of little Combee.

Mesmerized for a second by the little Pokémon flying around like pieces of a shattered window, the young coordinator forced herself to remember her plan. Five minutes. No more, no less. They both had equal opportunities. The difference was, she thought with a smirk, as a good girl she had done her homework.

One doesn't face an adversary unprepared. Not if you want to win. Despite her tender age, Rebecca realized that most battles were won before they were even fought. Generals, people like her who thought things trough and considered all the possibilities, won. And they were remembered. Unlike the nameless soldiers like the one facing her from across the field, whose best "strategy" was a several-hit combo.

"That's the spirit, dude! Keep it on and make it flashy! Agility into Ice Punch!" Rico's excited shouts, augmented by the numerous microphones around the field, were currently louder than even the roar of the audience. His tan partner just grunted and was once again out in a flash.

Hitmonchan appeared behind the Bug type, his glove this time crackling with freezing energy. The punch he threw was probably going to freeze at least half of her abdomen-if it had connected. Without even turning back or giving any other sign of acknowledging her opponent, Vespiquen just moved gracefully away in what seemed like a pirouette. The Fighting type was more than speechless as he stumbled forward due to the shift of his body weight. Nonetheless, he relied on his superior speed and prepared to just roll over and try again- only to find that he couldn't move.

In the precious seconds after the narrow dodge of their queen, the Combee had all taken hold of his arm and leg. More than surprised by the strength and stubbornness of the little fliers, Hitmonchan tried breaking out of the improvised chains. Only to find that the combined grip of what was left of the defense wall was more than he could handle at that moment.

Concerned eyes searched for help in his trainer's ones and Rico seemed ready to suggest a way out- only to be cut of by the brisk voice of the other coordinator.

"Marvelous dodge, Vespiquen, just like we have trained. Now be a sweetie and demonstrate to Hitmonchan your Toxic attack."

Command given, command obeyed. While Rebecca was flicking her waist long ruby hair just to show off how in control she was, Vespiquen spit out a sizzling bubble from her concealed mouth. The purple glob struck the immobilized fighter head-on, even taking out some Combee in the process as well. The more fortunate ones just left their brethren and returned to circling the wasp queen like some strange version of the Solar system.

The stage was set. And Rebecca once again congratulated herself mentally for a work well done. They had accused her of snooping around but that "snooping" had won her the battle. She just knew it. Like how her father researched, checked bank accounts, questioned former employees and companies and the like, months before even announcing he was planning on buying them or making them go bankrupt for example. Or the way her mother postponed and postponed the case until she had the needed witnesses, evidence or some other seemingly meaningless tiny detail that could change the trial. Heck, even her, mostly mindless if you ask Rebecca about it, sisters did their research about the fortune of the guy and the past of their girlfriends before ripping the couple apart and claiming the trophy. Her family was a family of predators- ones that knew how the strings were pulled and how to make the puppeteer do their bidding.

"Don't give up, Hitmonchan! We're in it to win it! Try Mach Punch and that formation we trained!" by that moment Rico was looking rather disheveled, his hair no longer slicked back due to the numerous times he had run his hand trough it in anxiousness. Beads of sweat started framing his face as he cast glance after glance to the enormous screen. His points were below the ¾ mark. Rebecca's had barely dropped.

The Fighting type, despite the creeping feeling of thousands of needles making their way through his veins and even lungs, just shook his head in an attempt to clear it and pressed on. He and Rico had been in worse jams before. And as always, they were going to pull it through in the end. As long as he and his partner worked together, Hitmonchan was confident in their victory. And so, the brave boxer jolted in an unknown direction again before appearing somewhere around Vespiquen and thrusting forward his glowing hand.

But every time, the bee queen just dodged and glided away in a mocking parody of a dance, circling around every punch and jab. And when Hitmonchan's speed managed to help him be on target, another Defend Order was issued and the annoying pests just absorbed the hit, scattered around and danced along with their queen, before reforming to take a hit once again.

Rebecca's mocking smile grew wider every time she saw Rico's points drop. She had researched every coordinator she knew was participating. Getting to Jubilife several days earlier was well worth it. Rico was an easy one to solve- after all, he was parading in front the Pokémon Center from the moment he had arrived. If she was to face him without knowing his style, Rebecca was nearly sure she would lose. Of all her arsenal, Vespiquen had only one offensive move that was at least partially effective against Hitmonchan. And that move took time to work properly. Rico's partner on the other hand apparently knew all the elemental punches. Some good they were doing- what attack was useful if it didn't hit? Rebecca was thankful her chosen strategy revolved around dodging- after some research, Rico was suddenly the one that she would beat the easiest.

"Give it up, hotshot. Don't you see he's failing? Tiring? Getting slowly, but surely, more and more badly poisoned?" the redhead knew her own words and seeing his Pokémon suffer were more of a poison to Rico than the actual one. Rebecca didn't like causing pain but it was a battle after all- she wasn't responsible if he was foolish enough not to have a defense against that.

As the annoyingly calm emerald eyes locked with his, Rico couldn't help but gulp. Points be damned, Hitmonchan was getting worse and worse out there, without even taking hits. By that time not even his speed helped him land a punch, he was getting visibly sloppy and, what hurt Rico the most, looked in intense pain. Clutching the poke ball, the blond considered giving up, just recalling him and running straight to Nurse Joy at the judges' stands and making her heal him. But… what would Hitmonchan think about him then? What would Sensei think?

"No response? Gee, sweetie, you're even more pathetic than I thought. Not even brave enough to give up? Confuse Ray!"

The Fighting type had stumbled after the last failed attempt to inflict at least some damage and Vespiquen ceased the opportunity. The purple rings that emanated from the jewel on top her head struck silently but the effect was immediately visible. Hitmonchan was now beating himself up. Literally.

"Oh, let's put him out of his misery, kay? Just finish him off cleanly with a Power Gem, dear."

The, oh so sarcastic, voice didn't matter to him anymore. All he could see was the tan humanoid kneeling on the ground, grunting in pain every time his own fists connected to some part of his body. Not even the fact that he barely had any points left or the giant glowing orb forming above Vespiquen's head mattered to him.

"Hitmonchan… Hitmonchan… I…" the stuttered words fell on deaf ears as the yellow sphere was finally lunged towards his partner. His sensei had told him backing down to treat your injuries wasn't shameful… but back then Tyrogue had just scoffed. Hitmonchan was never, ever going to forgive him if he gave up on their first try. Period.

"Pathet…"

_"Enough!"_

The boy's shout silenced even the audience. And as the word still rung in the air, Hitmonchan's eyes shot open. With a roar rivaling the one of an Exploud, the Fighting type just pulled back weakly one of his hands. And backhanded the Power Gem away, sending it straight to the dumbstruck Vespiquen. The Rock type attack struck directly, the Combee too surprised to react, and after sending the bee queen flying back, the attack finally made a sizeable dent in Rebecca's points.

"You don't humiliate your opponent. You don't poison them and then just run away and laugh in their face as they fall. [I]You face them with dignity and treat them like how you want to be treated! You give them you best![/I]" the calm, yet passionate, words signaled Rebecca her perfect plan was suddenly not so foolproof after all. "And we intend to give you just that. I was saving this for the final round but I guess I'll give you a sneak peak. Hitmonchan, up in the air! Ice Punch!"

The audience, the ones watching on the screens backstage, Marion, even Rebecca, they all gasped. Slowly but surely, the Fighting type rose and threw a somewhat disgusted look at Vespiquen and her trainer. Blue sparks once again danced around his ever-present gloves. And then he jumped.

The redhead didn't know how to react, the sudden change to her once-perfect tactic aside, but seeing him, so badly poisoned that he should be down already, jumping up as a Buneary?! Rico's voice surprised them all once again.

"Earthquake!"

So he did have one ace up his sleeve after all, were the thoughts that crossed her mind as Hitmonchan somersaulted downwards. The Pokemon slammed both his hands, coated in blue sparks, in the ground. The force of the impact was shattering and debris and shockwaves were send outwards, shoving back Vespiquen and striking her hard. And after the initial quake a second wave of sparks followed, this one blue, and it left a frozen path on its wake. By the time Rebecca realized what he was aiming for, her partner was already half frozen and chained to the ground by the ice.

"Thunder Punch!"

The frozen field cracked just by the sheer speed of the Hitmonchan that had jolted forward, his glove this time coated in electricity, and all the Combee that weren't solid ice by then tried to protect their queen. The punch once again connected with the living shield, this time shattering it, and jolts of yellow electricity jumped from one Combee to another, paralyzing them. Rebecca gulped when she realized Rico had neutralized her last defense.

"Fire Punch!"

The flaming left hook broke free Vespiquen of her restraints and sent her tumbling backwards. Rico didn't even bother looking at the clock. He knew he had no time.

"Mach Punch! That'll be the last one!"

Running on pure adrenaline by that moment, Hitmonchan just pulled back his hand… and then disappeared in a flash. Rebecca knew it was over. The soldier had beaten the general. She could say goodbye to her dreams of fame and glory. And just as Hitmonchan appeared with one fist glowing in front of Vespiquen, the siren rang.

The punch sent the bee queen flying. Vespiquen was propelled straight past her trainer and into the wall, leaving a dent and an array of cobwebs behind her. Rico cheered and went to help his, now nearly unconscious, partner to his feet. The blond boy looked at the screen… and froze.

The words "Winners: Rebecca and Vespiquen" were flashing on the screen. He hadn't made it on time.

* * *

"Gee, Hollowhead, that's a new low even for you!" Viviane's snide remark was, as the boys feared, just the begging of a tirade that could go on for several centuries before the participants settled on ripping themselves to shreds. Unless there was someone brave, or more appropriately- crazy, enough to come between those two and stop them.

"Well duh, Blondierella, I didn't expect someone like _you _to understand the meaning of the world strategy," the redhead's increasingly loud voice drew the attention of the small crowd backstage. Some of the seasoned coordinators were used to seeing newbies and even pros crack under the pressure but a full-blown shouting match? That was something you saw once or twice every contest circuit. If you were lucky. "Or do you need a thesaurus?"

Viviane tried playing cool and replied casually while playing with one of her spiky pigtails. The boys, and the rest of the guys backstage, just glanced from one to the other as if they were watching an intense tennis match.

"I don't need a dictionary to define the phrase "foul play", thank you very much," here Vivi let out a fake sigh. "It figures since you have no talent whatsoever you'd try winning by just playing as close to breaking the rules as one can get. Right, guys?"

The small group of young trainers fidgeted nervously around. The blonde didn't like the way Kale seemed bent of wiping away something nonexistent from his glasses or the sudden conversation Steven had struck with the suddenly, and oh so conveniently, out of his poke ball, Kirlia. Jed glanced to both his fellow males and then threw a concerned look somewhere towards the girl's feet. Viviane felt surprised she was taken aback by his next action. Honestly, how many times could one whacko make you think you've seen it all? She should have been getting used to it by then.

"Rebecca, my fair dame, will you go on a date with your humble admirer if he takes your side in this heated war of beliefs?" the teen was suddenly kneeling in front of the redhead, talking with all the seriousness of a knight about to go on that kind of campaigns you just knew ended up with half your army rotting in some forest, and attracting all the attention in the room. Some of them wondered whether the guy was contagious. Any second now, were the words that crossed the minds of the males that knew Viviane and Rebecca well enough.

"PERVERT!"

"TRAITOR!"

Two punches connected with the sides of the unfortunate Don Juan's head and soon he was lying on the floor mumbling something about potatoes and hallucinogenic cactus juice. Viviane pierced Kale with all the authority and promises of pain her eyes could muster. The boy didn't like others thinking he was going to be ordered around by a girl. Did she really think threatening him would make him take her side? But on the other hand, she did punch hard enough to take out a Rapidash. Ah, to blazes with all that, Kale thought- at least he'd die stating his opinion. People in the past who did that had monuments built in their honor after all.

"Honestly, Viv, I kinda like her style. Sure, it may have been a rip-off from the style of a award-winning pro," the redhead threw him a surprised look "but she did bent it enough to call it her own and did what she had to to beat Rico. Hitmonchan just couldn't have been beaten in a head-on charge. You can't expect her to lie down and wait to be squashed, right? Well, the taunting wasn't necessary but…" it was then that he noticed the look the blond coordinator had been giving him "Aaah, look at the time. Mum made me promise I'd call her every day at," he glanced at his blue Pokétch "08:47 sharp. Gotta g…"

"Oh no, you ain't going nowhere!" Viviane's grip on the boy's hand promised to leave some marks. "Don't you care that Rico should have been the one moving on? The friend that, despite being an annoying lech, treated you like he has known you his whole life?" Steven covered Kirlia's eyes with his hand, his partner was too young to see a human's arm being torn off. Sadly, Viviane noticed the action and decided it was Steven's time to be interrogated.

"And what about you? Did she finally impress you by treating you like a deity during drought?"

"Uhmm… I'm kinda with Kale on this one," alas, Steven will to live was very strong that day. "but she did treat Rico very badly. _Bad. She was a bad girl!"_

"Don't you dare make one of your succubus comments about it!" Vivi barked just as her rival opened her mouth with a smirk. "I'll go somewhere away from all of you traitors and backstabbers to prepare for my next battle, kay? Heck, maybe I'll go see how Rico is holding up."

"Good riddance!" was the redhead "affectionate" answer.

"Uhm, Kale? I don't think Jed's alright," Steven gestured towards the Kirlia curiously poking the unconscious teen on the ground "Maybe we should get him to Nurse Joy."

"Nah, he'll be fine and dandy after a minute or so."

"Seriously, dude, he doesn't seem to be breathing."

"Relax, after all Viviane has put him through so far, he's bound to have some freaky regeneration ability or something."

Just then, a flash of light appeared out of the teen's belt and soon the colorful mess of feathers that was Chatot was circling around. True to his loyalty, the Flying type whacked his beloved trainer up the head. The only response he got was a soft mumble coming from Jed.

"Watch out, Billy Ray! The bluenette's got a gun."

"Told ya so," Kale announced with a grin.

* * *

Things were certainly not going as planned for Rebecca. Sure, she had won, if just barely and by pure technicality. And that wasn't even a sure thing as Marion had announced Rico would take her place if Vespiquen wasn't battle-ready for the next match. And since Nurse Joy was not allowed to help in a decisive situation like that, it was up to the emerald-eyed girl to think of something. And fast. Filling the glaring holes on the field in record time was something the staff excelled at after all.

"Now what do we have here? Princess going all emo? Maybe so she could impress not-so-tall, dark and emo over there?"

Rebecca just let out a frustrated sigh and forced herself to face the blond, now back in his usual yellow sleeveless top and baggy camouflage pants.

"Here to try and make sure I get disqualified so you could get your well-deserved victory, am I right? Well guess again before you think I'll give up! I'll find a way to heal her enough and…"

"Cool your engines, hothead, I'm actually here to give you this," Rico beamed a somewhat bitter smile and threw some kind of spray in her lap. "A healing potion. Does miracles when there's no Nurse Joy around. Ain't as good as the actual treatment but it'll keep Vespiquen up to your opponent's level."

Rebecca could just look quizzically to the small bottle in her lap.

"Why are you helping me? I humiliated you, treated you awfully and if I get shafted you take my place. Why?"

Rico's behavior was all she didn't expect from anyone in this situation. If it had been her she would have done anything to earn that second chance. But he? He was not only giving up but helping her? And after his "no surrender" speech earlier?"

"It's really simple," the boy replied with a grin and put his arms behind his head "The point of the contest battle is to knock out or have more points than your opponent by the time the five minutes counter reaches zero. I didn't make it on time. In my book that means I failed the needed requirements for a clean win. Staying just 'cause of a technicality just seems cheap to me."

Rico smiled wider as the redhead's emerald eyes grew bigger and bigger. Plopping on the seat next to her, the boy continued:

"As much as I detest your strategy, you didn't break any rules. You won fair and square in your own twisted kind of way. But that's just me talking. Now take this and go out there and rock! Your next opponent is Viviane after all. I'm in for one big catfight! It's a shame we don't have any mud around."

With a wink, the coordinator left his female colleague to stare at the gift he had left her as he stood up and left.

* * *

"Okay, girls, you ready? Cause the audience sure is!" Marion winked playfully and raised her hand to announce the start of the battle. The blonde and the redhead on the opposite sides of the field stood still like statues, their eyes locked seemingly forever. At least their Pokemon showed signs of being living creatures, not decorative gargoyles. Vespiquen was bridled up and the air around her was abuzz, showing the anxiousness of the numerous Combee that used her as a hive. Pikachu on the other hand, looked ready to leap forward and tear the royal bee apart. His tail was twitching in annoyance and his snarls, squeezed through bared teeth, showed his opinion about the irritating lady bent on postponing the inevitable battle.

"Ready? Aaaaaaand _go_!" Pikachu thanked whoever was the boss up there. That lady was starting to give him a headache. Maybe she would like having her hairdo remade by several hundred jolts of pure torture? He was going to consider it later. For now, he had a battle at hand. And his trainer seemed to consider the red-haired female a special enemy. Boy, was he in for a fun fight…

"Quick Attack!"

"Defend Order!"

No time to think, just act. The yellow rodent's train of thoughts didn't even have time to derail as he jolted forward. The army of annoying pests he had seen earlier on that thing the humans called TV, appeared again. And he just snickered while jolting past them and his sheer speed made them scatter. The Vespiquen took the full force of the hit and staggered backwards.

"Well, figures he'd be fast enough when not poisoned. We'll work on that," the female, the one he had heard others calling "Rebecca", just yawned and signaled her partner "Sweetie, I think it's time to give you fan club an Attack Order."

The nerve of that pest! She dared yawn and wave off his performance, his attack! No one in his forest had dared to do that since the rather unfortunate Barboach and Shroomish made that mistake. And he had made sure those two were _inseparable_ forever. By thunder, he was going to maim that "Rebecca" for sure! But what was that annoying buzzing sound? Couldn't they shut up for a second while he was trying to think?!

Not. Good.

That was the conclusion Pikachu reached when he finally noticed the dome of Combee, all of them preparing to give him the stinging of his live, that had encircled him. Please, Viviane, please, they do deserve to be deep fried!

"Pikachu, stay strong! Use Thunder Wave to put them all down!" Viviane's stern voice reached the long black-tipped ears just in time. Slightly disappointed that he was going to just paralyze and not roast them, Pikachu decided to be happy with what he had in live. The red pouches on his cheeks sparkled wildly and soon enough, just as the mob of yellow stinging pests jolted forward, a wave of erratic bolts exploded outwards. Taken out in surprise, the Combee could do nothing but squeak excuses to their queen and fall on the ground like roasted berries.

Pikachu looked around with pride in his beady eyes. He had and his trainer were obviously no match for the little flying pests. Viviane smiled at him, one of those smiles reserved only for the one closest to her- that being her team most often, and ordered triumphantly:

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt! And make sure she can't dodge!"

Man, he just loved his trainer sometimes! Frying time! He took a deep breath and, with all the power he could muster, let out a mighty bolt that flew upwards. The electric current connected with the tangled webs of wires and frames above the field and as every spotlight shattered, all the electricity in the building followed the original stream. And shot straight down towards the Vespiquen, whose red eyes looked ready to pop out.

Rebecca's face was illuminated along with hundreds of others by the thunderbolt, now the only source of light in the arena. And her emerald eyes showed both fear and resolve. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Vespiquen, Slash the ground with full force! Both hands!"

The wasp queen thought for a second that her trainer must have lost her mind but realizing it was Rebecca that was giving the order, she obeyed. The redhead never tried stupid things that she knew wouldn't work.

The shockwave after the impact sent debris flying around and the groans of the stage crew could have been heard in the total darkness. Marion's voice somehow managed to put an end to the annoyed murmuring of the audience.

"Don't worry, folks," she shouted in the direction she knew the stands were "our stage crew is currently turning on the reserve generator and spotlights."

And soon enough numerous spotlights burst to live and the battlefield was once again visible. Or at least part of it. Viviane's half was nearly whole covered by the constantly circling dome of Combee. Very angry Combee, if one was to judge by the furious buzzing. On the other side, Rebecca herself didn't dare blink in fear of waking up. Vespiquen was still where she had seen her last, now kneeling and arms elbow-deep in the ground. The small crater around her still sizzled with sparks. But the royal bee stood up slowly, but proudly, and her crimson eyes glowed with anger. Everyone watching the battle and seeing her scorched and smoking form couldn't believe Rebecca had thought of something so crazy. Vespiquen had grounded herself before the jolt had hit.

"Attack order!" the words were spoken somewhat unsurely, between heavy breaths.

Vespiquen's eyes glowed even brighter and the mob of Combee formed a stable dome by merging their beehive cells. Viviane wanted to forget who was trapped inside. But the blonde knew that if she wanted to win and Pikachu to be okay, she had to act decisively.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt at full power!"

She could see the yellow hue through the cracks but soon another light, this one multicolored, filled the dome. And then the Combee themselves were thrown back by the force of their combined attack. All that was left of the dome was a crater of Pikachu's own, and the owner himself. Certainly not what I had had in mind for the day, the rodent thought as he staggered back to his stubby feet.

The screen above the field came back to live as well, showing the manually updated score. Both girls' hearts skipped a beat. Two minutes left. Even points.

"Vespiquen, Slash away!"

"Pikachu, it's time for the Thunder Tail combo!"

Just as the wasp queen shot forward with glowing claws, Pikachu once again collected electricity in his tail. But this time, he kept it there and proceeded to jump in the fray as well, absorbing all the collected jolts in the Iron Tail. The result was a glowing, golden tail, which left trails of electricity behind.

The two Pokémon soon engaged in their deadly dance. A literal one for Vespiquen of course. Dodges and strikes, parries and feints, and still as even as they were, Rebecca noticed her points were slightly lower. But of course, the rodent's attack was more attractive than Vespiquen usual strikes. Blondierella had some creativity, Rebecca at least gave her that.

"Vespiquen, grab hold of his tail! Confuse Ray!"

The yellow queen did just that, and despite the jolts that surged through her body, struck Pikachu with the blue glowing rings that had the tendency to jumble up one's mind. And not a second later, to Viviane's horror, Pikachu was biting his own paws and tail and slapping himself over and over.

"Now's the chance! Vespiquen, keep him down and use Power Gem! Come on, sweetie, just a little more."

Despite the redhead's encouraging words, her partner couldn't have done it if not for her servants. The Combee led their queen towards the yellow rodent and the rest of them pinned him to the ground with their own bodies. Seeing the yellow orb grow bigger and bigger in the hand of the Vespiquen menacingly looming above her Pikachu, Viviane knew she had to reach out to him. But she couldn't.

The blonde realized she was shouting his name, encouraging him but not in the way Rico did. Inside, she felt like the little girl she truly was, and wanted to cry and scream his name and go hug him and take the hit. But that would mean caving in, letting Rebecca see she was weak. Letting everybody- Kale, Jed, Rico and Steven, the audience even, to see she was vulnerable. And the blonde wanted to be strong, she had to. But Viviane wanted to help her friend as well.

The blonde opened her mouth and the tiniest of tears started forming in her sapphire eyes. But as they met with Pikachu's empty orbs and Rebecca's emerald ones, Viviane realized she couldn't do it.

"Oh, Pikachu… I'm so sorry."

As the girl wiped her eyes quickly so no one could see her shameful tears, she could have sworn she saw a glimpse of accusation in Pikachu's empty eyes. And then the Power Gem came crashing down and before even time had run out, the judges deemed Pikachu unable to continue.

* * *

_"Incredible, just incredible, folks! Steven and Kirlia are managing to keep a lead despite the type disadvantage. I wonder how Rebecca's feeling after Steven did a complete 180o for the final battle and copied her defense and attack formations. I've never seen someone using Magical Leaf and Psychic in such a way. Still, Vespiquen has been constantly on the offensive and I doubt Kirlia can keep dodging, deflecting and counterattacking forever!"_

"Come inside, you're missing out Steven and Rebecca's battle."

Kale's voice fell on deaf ears as the blonde just continued staring at the flickering lights of the city. The balcony was fairly well-lit, courtesy to the light happily streaming from inside through the sliding doors. Still, it was getting chillier, as all Sinnoh nights tended to be, and Kale didn't think getting a cold would help Viviane one bit. Seconds passed, and realizing the girl wasn't going to follow his advice, the boy leaned on the railing next to her. This just didn't feel right. He was the newbie, he wasn't supposed to be the one doing all the wise talk. Still, he had to do _something_.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Viv, we all make mistakes. Blace got hurt because I of me. But you don't see me whining, right? I'm just happy he's back with me again and is currently stuffing himself with what Jed calls food!"

Oh man, did that sound too harsh? He wanted to reassure her, not drive her away even more. Viviane just kept on studying the cityscape covered by the gentle veil of the night. Kale clutched the railing and, observing the shimmering lights as well, decided to try a different approach.

"Come on, you'll like it. We can just turn off the TV and enjoy the late dinner. I'm telling ya, he must have bought every potato in the supermarket. He's made potato sandwiches, salads, mashed potatoes, potato juice and potato cake even! Not that I'd try any of the last two personally but hey, maybe you'll like them," the dark-haired trainer let out a nervous laugh and pressed on "You must be starving after running all the way from the Contest Hall! Honestly, we thought you'd get lost and end up headfirst into some lamppost. You did look very _uncoordinated_ after the battle."

What on Earth was he doing?! Cracking lame jokes and bad puns in front of a depressed girl?! She had probably thought he was aiming to mock her or something. Kale expected the punch to come any second. Or maybe a slap- one could never be sure how Viviane would inflict pain to the unfortunate males around. But somehow, the fact she didn't even grunt or look his way bugged him even more. Even a violent reaction would have been some kind of a reaction. So much for his Dad's advice to solve problems with a laugh.

_"Hold on to your hats, people, that was some Power Gem. Concealing the attack with a flock of Combee was sure one smart decision. The tide has turned and maybe that was the fatal step that's going to cost Steven the ribbon? Vespiquen servants have gotten hold of him and, in a repeat of the previous match, the queen is getting ready to pass judgment with yet another Power Gem! Any second now…"_

Great going, Marion, keep reminding her of the failure. Letting out a deep sigh, Kale turned his gaze to the crescent moon. Nope, no solution there as well. What should he do? Praise her? Try making her view the battle from a different perspective? Finally snap under all the craziness that has been following him around since starting being trainer and slap her? No, no and hell no! The first was an uncertain tactic, the second depended on his experience as a trainer and the last one meant imminent death. Kale doubted the blonde next to him was_ that_ unresponsive. Marion's words once again reached his ears from inside the living room.

_"Oh my! I bet no one saw that last second Double Team coming! Kirlia is finally on the offensive and with less than two minutes on the clock, things aren't looking good for our female finalist. Just look, the Combee can't keep up with that flurry of Teleports and Magical Leaves! He's just spamming her!"_

"Chaar, chim-aa-r!"

The fiery-tailed monkey had apparently sneaked silently through the door. Kale wordlessly picked up the brown Pokémon from his shoulder and placed him on the railing. Judging by the awed gaze, Blace was in love with the view. Figures, the Fire type had never been in a city before and seeing Twinleaf Town from Rowan's hill wasn't something special. As Kale tried to guess what exactly Blace was thinking, the boy once again felt his heart sink at the thought of losing his friend. It surprised the trainer how little time it had taken for him to bond with his starter. By thunder, he wasn't going to let Vivi lose such a connection with one of her partners just because of her pride!

"Look, Viv, I know how you feel. I really do," his uncertain voice trembled, but Kale continued nonetheless "I realize you don't like opening up to others. I realize what it feels like to let down your Pokémon. And the fact that you do feel guilty speaks for itself. I saw you out there, we all did. Your heart must've felt like being torn apart seeing Pikachu like this. He knows you care deeply for him as well. You just need to… talk."

"I'm scared he won't forgive me."

Kale didn't know what it was- the unexpected response, the fact she was talking about her feelings with someone or her sad voice- that took him aback so much. Choosing his words carefully, the boy finally looked Viviane straight in her clear blue eyes.

"I don't know Pikachu well. Heck, I barely know him at all. But I do know one thing- Pokémon know their trainers for what they really are. Pikachu knows why you reacted like that- and I bet he's willing to help you to overcome that obstacle together."

"And where did you hear those wise words, oh Lord of Cheesiness?'

Awesome, a sarcastic response! He must have been on the right track if her quick wit was returning. Kale gave himself a mental pat on the back and grinned widely.

"Actually, it was gramps that said them to me some time ago. That man was like a fortune cookie sometimes."

Observing the smiling fool in front of her, sheepishly scratching the back of his head, the girl raised an eyebrow.

"Was the old coot bribing you with candy or something? You sure have paid him a lot of attention."

"Well, you could say he was a very… influential figure in my life," Kale replied and leaned back on the railing "I do know what's it like to fear failing. You fear 'cause you still doubt you decision. But for me? Well, every member of my family is into Pokémon training. And every single one of them has earned their praises some way or another."

The boy scratched the Chimchar between his ears before continuing. Viviane kept on looking at him with interest in hearing some background.

"Dad has the gym, Mum her contest trophies, Sinnoh's Dancing Seer- that's how I knew Rebecca kinda copied her style," the boy replied to Viv's raised eyebrow " and even my sorry excuse for an uncle has gotten himself a respectful position among trainers. I'm expected to at least win a League or something. Since I'm actually a trainer now, it's every day Numero Uno or bust for me. I can't go back home as a failure. Dad's another story, but Mum won't like it. I know she loves me more than anything in the world but she just wasn't raised to accept defeat. She was thought to always strive for the better."

"And what about the old man?"

"Gramps?" the boy suddenly beamed a smile again "Gramps was a whole other league unto himself. But enough chit-chat! We're talking about you here, remember?"

The blonde glared at him for reminding her. After letting out a sigh, she finally caved in.

"You really think he wants to talk?"

Hazel eyes met sapphire once again and the boy tried to burn into his memory the face behind Viviane's mask. As the city's eyes kept on flickering and the urban noises continued their constant song, Marion's voice reached his ears again.

_"Amazing! Kirlia has mixed the Magical Leaf/Psychic combo with the rotating shield of Combee. Vespiquen probably doesn't know on what world she is under that kind of barrage! Marvelous! And… that's it! Time's up and Steven wins with a good several points ahead. Now he'll be awarded the prestigious Jubilife Ribbon!"_

"Yes, I do think so. Now have a nice talk with him and come inside so we can see Steven getting the ribbon," the boy turned around and continued in a quieter voice before walking back in "Truth to tell, I'll try everything on the table. Jed's ecstatic and something tells me he has someone to cook for besides Chatot and Munchlax for the first time. You decide for yourself."

The familiar flash in his peripheral vision and the sound of a Pokémon being called out brought a smile on Kale's face as he headed towards his other companion, who was currently sitting on the couch and singing camp songs.


	10. Filming Frenzy

_**Chapter 10:  
Filming Frenzy**_

"Could you remind me again why exactly are we hiding in the bushes?"

"Because, genius, the brats are out there on the open road. You want us to be recognized or something?" the older twin shot a glare at his mirror image and sighed with flushed cheeks "I do not want to be forced to escape from prison with only a bath towel again. Especially if we're using the windowsill escape route."

Draco abandoned his brother's silly spying routine and plopped on the ground. The grunt leaned back casually on one of the numerous old oaks around the road and laughed.

"Vlad, it's not _my_ fault the wind blew away _your_ towel. The only exit was through the bathrooms' window after all. It was windy. That's it. Man, the looks of all those Officer Jenny were priceless. What's the chance of the wind blowing it away when we were crossing a part with a window?" the blond man's mouth was swiftly shut by his brother's hand. The group of pre-teens on the road had stopped and looked around in surprise of the strange sound. The crazy one, who had a special place in the brothers' Hall of Hate, even threw a prolonged glance in their direction but just shrugged and followed the others.

"Need I remind you, dimwit, that because of your plan we were stuck 7 floors above the ground with only 20 centimeters of ledge to stand on?" Vlad bridled up and dusted off his grey trench coat as he stood up "If not for my luck, they'd have never given us those uniforms to start with."

The younger twin just sighed at his brother's usual habit of claiming all the glory. He had gotten used to that- living with the synonym for ego that was Vlad for more than two decades thought many things about being patient. Still, Draco knew that one day they would score it big time. And when they were finally second only to the Boss himself, each one of them would have more than enough things to brag about.

As the older blond kept on talking about some infantile plan of disguising as Magikarp salesmen, Draco just dreamt about all the money, the glory and respect… and all those cute new recruits that would look up to him. Only a few more years, he was sure of it! The last mission, while costing him a broken rib or two and some blood loss, was a success. The Commander had taken all the glory, as tradition had it of course, but they finally had a high ranked mission marked as 'Successful' in their files. One daydream after another kept on passing through the young man's head until suddenly he found himself pinned to the ground. His brother's hushed voice came from somewhere on his right.

"Stay down, there's someone nearby," the hand placed on Draco's back pushed him further down and he was about to give Vlad a good smack up the head and be on his merry way to Oreburgh. Unfortunately an impassive and unfamiliar voice cut off Vlad's angry whispers that were probably the reason the stranger had approached them to begin with. Well, that and the fact they were two grown man hiding in the bushes.

"Is there a problem, gentlemen? Do you need help?"

Vlad let out a frustrated sigh and cursed their misfortune. He opened a single eye and inspected the newcomer with a dumb grin on his face. The other man's expensive-looking shoes, probably all that was left of some unfortunate Arbok, were the only things he could see at first. As the blond mused who on Earth had caught them red-handed, his gaze slowly went up. A pair of black trousers was nearly hidden behind the buttoned-up leather trench coat, so different from the dusty cheap ones he and his brother wore. There was a questioning look on the stranger's face. The man was apparently somewhere around their age, if only slightly older, but had an air of authority around himself. Like how Saturn demanded to be treated like some demi-god and how Mars went out of her way to make the female grunts feel bad. Like how Neptune had made clear he was the only one of the Commanders allowed questioning any prisoners.

A stray sun-beam that had made its way through the veil of the newcomer's sandy-blond shoulder-length hair caught Vlad unprepared. Raising an arm to protect his yeas, the twin soon felt something poking his forehead. There was a long object aimed between his eyes and despite becoming cross-eyed in the process, Vlad managed to recognize it as some kind of alabaster cane. Its tip was decorated with a silver, or maybe even platinum, figurine of a Charizard- or at least the twin thought so. He had never being good with Pokémon not from his home region. The young man noticed that the hand holding the 'weapon' was heavy-decorated itself- there were at least three massive rings of the same material as the cane's tip. And when Vlad noticed they were shaped like Pokémon heads with open jaws, he started to doubt they were facing an innocent passer-by.

For the past minute, one that had felt like a century to Draco, his hand had been slowly moving towards his belt. If only he could reach Seviper's poke ball! His partner had popped out on his own for the smallest of reasons before- why not do it now, when it would actually help? Still, the prick that had caught them by surprise, whoever he was, was busy piercing Vlad's head with his stare. His brother's face would have normally made Draco laugh but somehow, they had managed once again to get in a wicked mess without even noticing. And that was when the laughing stopped and the acting begun. They had survived in Team Galactic by sticking together. Some rich weirdo wasn't going to be their ultimate demise. There, only a couple more centimeters.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The passionless voice made Draco freeze. For Pete's sake, the weirdo hadn't even looked in his direction! Maybe, maybe they were facing a psychic? Get a hold of yourself, Draco, were the words that crossed the younger twin's mind. It wasn't time to be daydreaming about magic tricks and other bogus. Wait a minute, why's the weirdo searching for something inside his trench coat? Oh no, no, no ,no! A gun! He must be searching for a gun!

With that kind of troubled thoughts in his mind, and all the life since kindergarten flashing before his eyes, Draco pleaded whatever God was up there for help. Any kind of help!

"PERVERT!"

The scream was strong enough to shatter a bullet-proof window. Flocks of Flying types hightailed it out of the area and concerned Pokémon picked their little offspring up with their teeth before rushing into the opposite direction. The leather-clad man glanced with a concerned look in the direction of the shout and several outcomes quickly played in his mind. If he could just deal with those two quickly enou…

Several tiny dust clouds were the only things his dark blue eyes saw when they inspected the ground where the two twins had been just seconds ago.

"Those two sure are quick on their feet."

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"PERVERT!"

"NOT THE FACE!"

This lovely scene was taking place just around 50 meters down the forest road. The sun shone cheerfully, what deaf birds were left in the area sung and the occasional dimwitted Bidoof that didn't know what was good for it jolted from one way of the road to the other. The shouts of the two pre-teens were accompanied by the charming voice of the rainbow-colored blur that circled above their heads with blinding speed and screamed 'YAY MAY-DAY YAY' on top of his lungs.

The bespectacled boy fought for his life, dodging blow after blow, and the blonde girl with the uncanny gift to conjure pepper spray out of nothing was trying to strangle him. Only the older boy, one in his early teens, just stood silently and inspected an ordinary-looking oak branch while scratching his chin.

Alas, luck was not on Kale's side that day, and he ended up cornered between two intertwined trees. Viviane cracked her knuckles and was ready to serve, at least in her not-so-humble opinion, righteous justice.

"Calm down, Viv," pleaded the dark-haired boy "It's not my fault that Jed tripped me with that branch for Pete's sake! We were just walking in a single line and I fell on top of you. I certainly did not try to feel you up! "And then, all the bottled-up rage against the unjustly accusation finally broke free "I'M NOT SUICIDAL ENOUGH TO DO IT, WOMAN!"

The girl's blonde eyes just kept on piercing through him, and most certainly through the tree bark as well, and Jed finally decided to speak up.

"It's true, Viv. Tripping someone with an oak branch when a Bidoof crosses your way is one of the ways of determining whether said someone is a Werepsyduck," the boy stated without even looking up. Nor did he look up when Kale started shouting at him.

"AND HOW EXACTLY DO YOU DETERMINE IT? BY HAVING THE VICTIM BEATEN UP BY A GIRL?!"

"Beats me," Jed shrugged and waved around the branch to see if something would happen.

"Oh, sweetie, can you remind me where were we?"

Kale could only gulp when he met Viviane's glare.

"STARLIIII! Starli, star-aar!"

With furious shrieks and a flash of light, Starly was suddenly out of his poke ball. Glaring around with his black beady eyes, the little brown bird smacked the blonde up her head with his wing. And just as Kale was about to thank him, the Flying type smacked his own trainer for good measure as well.

"What's this all about?"

Starly tried smacking the speaker on reflex, but his wing suddenly met the hard surface of polished wood. The dark blue eyes of the newcomer met with Starly's surprised stare for a moment. And then the sandy-blond man just sent the Flying type to the ground with a flick of his cane.

"Hey, what giv…" Kale's words refused to leave his mouth when the boy realized the cane was suddenly across his throat, effectively pinning him to the tree. The stranger spoke to Viviane without even sparing the trapped trainer a look.

"Are you okay, Miss? Were these boys…"

"Oh no, no no! See, Sir, it was just one big misunderstanding. There's no need to worry at all!" Viviane hastily cut of the man and waved her arms in front of her. Seeing her sweatdrop and smile nervously, Kale was glad that she at least wouldn't get him in trouble with the authorities or something. Guess she didn't even believe her own accusations. The boy felt the cane's pressure disappearing and let out a thankful sigh. Starly was back in the air and squeaking something to the cane-wielding man. He just examined the Flying type with an amused smile and asked Kale:

"To Oreburgh, right? With that kind of a feisty battler, you're surely a gym challenger."

"Uhm, yeah. I am. I'm Kale and this is Viviane and the lunatic right there is Jed… and you are?" the young boy asked with a suspicious look.

"Norrington. Julian Norrington. I'm heading towards the Oreburgh Gate. Mind if I walk with you three?"

As Julian shook hands with Viviane, the boy mumbled something about having nothing against him traveling with them for a while and then outstretched his hand to shake Julian's as well. But to everyone's surprise, except Chatot's of course, Jed somehow crossed the distance from where he was staying to where they were in less than a second. Taking hold of Norrington's hand, Jed grinned widely and started chatting excitedly.

"Gee, dude, you struck me as some stuck-up snob with these clothes. But no, look what a shiny ring you have! How does it glow so bright despite the sun-beams? Where did you get it? Where can I get one? What's your least favorite number?" wave after wave of stupid questions drowned the man and Jed just kept on shaking his hand and admiring his ring. Which one, Kale couldn't tell. Yeah, Julian had some crazy looking rings- they were shaped like Pokémon heads after all. Like Dragon Pokémon to be precise, Kale noticed. But none of them shone, at least not with their own light.

But under Julian's dumbstruck look, the black-haired boy congratulated mentally Jed for managing to wipe away the newcomer's straight face. Jed just kept on trying to get a hold of one of the rings again and again. Viviane sighed and covered her face in shame. Typical. The crazy one was out to ruin her image once again. And why hadn't Chatot put an end to this alrea…

The blonde was suddenly forced to cut out her musings. Whenever Jed acted… the way he acted, Chatot had always kept a straight face or acted weirdly himself before whacking his trainer. Now the colorful Flying type was just sitting on a nearby branch and carefully observing the otherwise comical scene in front of them with a slightly tilted head. Following his look, Viviane noticed that Jed was trying to pry from Julian's finger the only ring that wasn't shaped like a Pokémon. Said accessory was actually quite ordinary looking compared to the others- a silver base with some kind of a blue gem shaped like a dragon circling it. In the center of the circle, just above the place where the dragon bit its tail, was placed another gem, this one cut like the numerical 'VII'. And if Jed was to be believed, the ring glowed brighter than a flashlight in the dark.

Maybe it was nothing, maybe it was her woman's instinct, or she had finally gotten Jed's disease, but Julian did look somewhat… surprised. Like if he had not expected someone noticing it. But how could Jed see something that was not actually there? She glanced at Kale but he was busy laughing his head off at the situation. Norrington finally decided enough was enough. Prying Jed's fingers off the ring, he stated sternly:

"Young man, if you don't remove your appendages from the ring,_ I'll remove them period_. Understood?"

Jed just grinned, gave a thumbs-up and started telling the man about his Werepsyduck theories. Kale's smile grew even wider when he noticed that Norrington was already sorry for offering to accompany them.

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"Breathe in… breathe out… breathe in…"

"Just shut up and breathe!"

Forrest Pokémon scattered around as the blond duo screeched to a halt. Falling to his knees, Draco panted and tried to make his lungs work once again. His eternally irritated brother was in a similar position, albeit just leaning on a lonely willow. Despite being used to egotistical psychos- one couldn't survive at their workplace otherwise- the twins were positively sure they had lost some of their nine lives while running away from the weird stranger.

"Man, Vlad, I've never run as fast in my li…"

"Hey, you two!"

The two 'brave' grunts felt their hearts skip a beat. What kind of force of nature had they angered?! No one should have been able to find them so quickly. Well, it was a short but good live, Draco thought. He guessed it was time to say goodbye to his beloved brother, and to his Ma, and to Auntie Em. And he never managed to tell Mina he loved her. Oh, cruel world! Cutting short such a youthful life like his! But no! He would fight to the death if he had to!

"FOR MINAAAA!"

"Stay put, Romeo, it isn't him!"

Draco felt his brother's hand grab his collar. But unfortunately, the passionate warrior was already in mid-air so that resulted in a rather comical and painful landing on his bottom.

"The castings have already ended, son. Maybe next time," said fatherly the man, seemingly in his fifties, that was facing them "Now come on, lazy bums! These mics and cameras won't carry themselves! Start working or I'm firing you here and now!"

Oblivious to why the old geezer was scolding them, the twins just shrugged and followed him for around a minute. Things became clear when they reached the end of the bushes. In front of them was the entrance to the tunnel widely known as Oreburgh Gate. But this time, there were a surprising number of people running around. Trucks and trailers had parked all around the place. Another group of men ran nearby, dressed in the same trench coats as the twins- for protection against the cold of the tunnel no doubt. Things painfully slowly become clear to the two blond men- apparently they have gotten themselves in another mess. They had been mistaken for a movie's filming crew.

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Around a hundred meters down the road another merry group was making their way to Oreburgh Gate. Kale and Julian had struck a conversation revolving around the Oreburgh Gym leader- some Rock type trainer named Roark. The black-haired boy's father had already told him all the types of the gyms of course. But learning about the leader him or herself was a whole other thing. Viviane just enjoyed the gentle sun-beams that kept away the native Sinnoh coldness and lazily watched Jed who was several meters ahead and currently playing scout. Talk about being childish- he had even put on a leaf-decorated helm that had apparently been stashed away in his seemingly bottomless backpack. The blonde shook her head in disapproval and returned to following the man and the young trainer's conversation. Apparently this Roark was a chief miner or something.

And still, Viviane kept noticing how Norrington constantly hid the hand with the mysterious ring. It was either behind his back- in the pose one would expect to see a noble in- or kept in his pocket. The frequent looks he gave to the cheerful teen in front of them seemed very suspicious as well. For the first time in her life, Viviane actually thought that maybe, just maybe, Jed wasn't talking complete nonsense.

"Here it is, children, the Oreburgh Gate," Julian announced with his usual passionless voice before raising an eyebrow "But what are those trucks and people doing here? Maybe there was a cave-in?"

The adult seemingly forgot about his young companions and quickly headed towards the tunnel's entrance. By the time the kids finally caught up to him, Julian was already in some kind of an argument with a bulky guy that probably was security.

"I'm sorry, but you can't pass through here. We're starting filming today. There are a lot of things to be done so the pass's closed 'til tomorrow. You'll either camp out here or take a detour through Floaroma Town."

"A detour through Floaroma?! That would take more time than waiting here!" despite keeping a steady voice, the traces of anger were clear in Julian's heated words "Listen now and listen well. I am going through Oreburgh Gate. Now. "

With that, Norrington just brushed past the guard and headed in. But, fate would have it, the Universe had other things in mind. The Machoke-built guy grabbed his arm in an iron grip and dropped the nice guy mask.

"No, you listen, pal," the man grunted as Julian just stared at his hand with an empty look "The Gate isn't open today. So scram, you snob, before I throw you out."

Julian finally looked the man in the eyes and questioned with an amused voice:

"Is that so?"

The young group of three could only stare in amazement as the cane was swiftly turned in Julian's hand and the tip with the Charizard found itself hooking the guard's ankle. One quick pull later the man was on the ground with a shocked look on his face. Julian poked his forehead with the cane's tip.

"Now that we have settled that, my dear friend, why don't we call the director?"

After a performance like this, it was only natural that the director arrived nearly inhumanely fast. Along with what seemed most of the film's crew and actors. The frustrated film-creator, a man in his forties, demanded to know why was Norrington going around and attacking innocent guards. The sandy-blond man just sighed and tried to pull out something from his trench coat's inner pocket. Of course, with so many celebrities around, it wasn't unusual that around a dozen guards and some genuine Machoke sprang up in readiness. Julian slowly pulled out the item he was looking for…

A badge.

"Norrington. Julian Norrington of the International Police. Your guard here was denying me passage through Oreburgh Gate and jeopardizing an important investigation in doing so."

The kids' eyes grew even wider. The director along with the unfortunate guard was soon offering apologize after apologize to Julian. Of course, they let him pass. And after a meaningful cough from Viviane, Norrington mentioned they were with him as well. The somewhat uneasy smile on the man's face proved to Kale that Viviane's uncanny gift of threatening males around her was working even on him. If barely. The bespectacled boy had just called out Blace, they needed his tail-flame to light the deepest parts of the tunnel, and had started musing on Viviane's ability when the blonde's abnormal scream made him stumble and fall.

"MAJESTICO! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S YOU!"

They had reached a place where the crew had positioned numerous cameras and there were a bunch of actors around. The numerous flashlights covering the rocky walls gave off a bright artificial light. And that was why the actors had gathered there, near one of the brightest places under the tunnel's jagged roof. Most faces were known to Kale- judging by them the movie must had had some serious budget. One of them in particular stood out. The young man, going by the alias 'Majestico', who Viviane was currently fangirling over. Kale's mind still struggled to process the alien data.

Majestico, as every newly cemented celebrity, had tons of fangirls. The guy was young, rich, famous and had a feminine appearance that somehow made women like him even more. On the other hand, most males- Kale included- found it hard to take seriously someone who had longer hair than most girls. Still, Majestico was famous for another thing as well- having Pokémon battles on TV. He was just around average but the hype was enough to give him even more fans. Plus, he had never lost yet. The black-haired boy sometimes wondered whether his opponents lost on purpose.

But Viviane to be one of those rabid fangirls? That was impossible! Jed getting normal was more possible than that! And yet, there she was, squealing and asking for autographs and pictures and… Kale was starting to feel dizzy. The cavern's walls were getting closer and closer. This time she wasn't joking around- and that meant the world _was_ really coming to an end. And he hadn't earned a single badge yet!

"Ouch!"

"Chaar-chimchim-chaar!"

Kale checked to see whether his ear was still connected to his head. In his concern Blace had pulled it rather painfully. The young trainer made a mental note to have a discussion about the ways to wake him up painlessly from daydreams with his starter. Now back in the real world, the bespectacled boy found Jed's comment really appropriate.

"Say wha?!"

"Oh it's such an honor meeting you, Mr. Majestico! Can I have your autograph? And a picture? Pretty please?" Viviane kept on bugging the long-haired celebrity, fingers intertwined as if she was praying, and the man just looked at her amusedly. Smiling widely, Majestico took her hands and replied with a wink.

"Now, now, how can I say no to such a beautiful young lady? Plus, people are not supposed to know I'm in this film yet. Oh my, is it possible for you to keep it quiet if we took a picture together? I'll sign it 'For my dearest of fans'," the last part of the sentence was sung. Badly. But Viviane's bright blue eyes just kept on shining and she just nodded and nodded and squealed.

"There's no time," Julian finally said and the two boys sighed happily "if we want to reach Oreburgh City before the sun sets we have to keep going."

"Oh, don't listen to this killjoy here, dear," Majestico laughed and waved Norrington off "Now that I think about it, it isn't as cold as I thought it would be here. Hey, Killjoy, leave it in my trailer. Down that part of the tunnel," the celebrity ordered and threw his fur coat at Julian's face.

Even Viviane stood in silence, awaiting the inevitable reaction. But Julian just kept his usual straight face and picked up the coat, which, in Kale's opinion, was all that was left of some unfortunate Floatzel. Majestico bridled up and turned his back to his colleagues, searching for a camera.

_Click! Click!_"

The sharp clicks echoed in the cavern and the celebrity turned around to inspect whether something was happening to his precious coat. They would have given him any role in a vampire movie with the pale face he acquired then. Norrington was holding a lighter to the coat, one of the sleeves already on fire and just watched as it burned with an empty look.

"Why, you!" Majestico stepped forward with clenched fists but Julian just tossed the coat between them and stomped the flaming sleeve.

"Unless you want an urgent meeting with your plastic surgeon, I wouldn't recommend you picking a fight with me."

Maybe it was more the emptiness in his dark blue eyes than his threatening words, but Majestico's shoulders slumped in defeat and he sighed.

"Okay then. But no pics for the annoying girl!" Viviane pouted before realizing what he had said and shouted 'Hey' "We're gonna have a Pokémon battle. I haven't had one aired for some time after all. It'll help my rating to stomp you flat."

"Not interested. I have better things to do with my time," Julian stated flatly.

"I'm gonna battle you!" Kale announced "I've battled on TV once before."

"Even if you have," Majestico said with hands on his hips "what's in it for me if I beat some k…wait a sec! You've a Chimchar so you're one of that prof's starting trainers, right? What was his name… Logan, Richardson…"

"It's Rowan," Kale corrected with an irritated voice. How dumb could this guy be, the boy thought. Not knowing the leading Pokémon Professor of Sinnoh?!

"Yeah, Rowan. So we have a battle and if I beat 'ya you keep it quiet 'bout the movie."

"And if I win," Kale announced with a sly grin "we get to stay in a luxurious trailer for the night. Since we can't make it on time to Oreburgh after all."

"You've got yourself a deal, kiddo. Heck, I'll throw in my own trailer. As if you're going to win it!" Majestico then pointed furiously towards Julian. "But I'm not letting _him_ stay!"

"Whatever," the police officer waved off "Since they have accommodations for the night, I'll be going now. I'll be sure to watch you beating him on TV, Kale. Farewell." And with that, Norrington just headed down the seemingly endless tunnel.

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"Heh, Draco," the older twin said between gulps of coffee "Who would've thought we'd actually get lucky with that!" Vlad took a vicious bite from his sandwich before continuing "We just have to carry around stuff and hold mics and cameras and stay out of the actual filming- and then they pay us on time! Not like with Team Galactic!"

"True!" Draco muffled with his mouth full "Plus, we've lunch break and free sandwiches and coffee. And the colleagues are nice. Maybe we should sign a full-time contract?"

The other twin chewed some more and swallowed before replying while scratching his chin:

"Yeah, it'd be nice to work here… but that would mean quitting Team Galactic," his twin choked upon hearing those words "And they'd send someone after us- maybe even one of the commanders! What if they send Neptune!"

Draco let his brother pat his back rather harshly before replying: "Or they'd sent those two witches! You won't believe what the guy who's on guard duty at the cafeteria told me! Poor Jekyll and Hyde," Draco said with fear in his voice and shuddered "They just tried stealing some rare Pokémon from that Rowan while on their mission in Sandgem. And after they got back, Mars…" the younger twin leaned and whispered something into his brother's ear. Vlad's eyes went wide and a Water Gun-like stream of coffee shot out of his mouth.

"SHE DID WHAT?" he shouted while nearly hyperventilating "There's no chance we're quitting Team Galactic! We'll just get what we've earned today and hightail it outta here."

"Nice plan," Draco grinned- something his brother found majorly disturbing after what Draco had just told him seconds ago "Besides, Vlad, if we quit that means no more stealing and threatening people and doing bad stuff. Can you picture us two earning our money in an honest way? Impossible!"

"Wise words, little brother," Vlad judged and was about to take another bite from the sandwich when he suddenly froze.

"What's the matt…" it was Draco's turn to shoot out caffeine projectiles from his mouth when he noticed what, or more appropriately who, was his brother's shaking hand pointing at.

"I suggest you two stay put," Julian advised coldly and started searching for his badge and handcuffs in his trench coat's inner pocket. The two grunts however, had other things in mind. Throwing away the food and drinks, the blond men ran away in panic with Draco shouting: "FORGET THE MONEY! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

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"Okay now, are we all set? You ready? Majestico? Little boy?" were the lazily asked by the cameraman questions.

"I've a name you know! It's Kale!" was the young trainer's frustrated answer. Majestico's on the other hand…

"Yup, I'm all set… wait a sec! Miranda? Where's Miranda?! GET ME MIRANDA AT ONCE! SOMEONE HAS TO POWDER MY NOSE!"

Kale just covered his face in shame while Blace scratched his head in confusion. Weren't those people seen on TV brave and like heroes or something, thought the little fire-monkey. Viviane and Jed were watching from the sidelines along with a ton of movie staff. The black-and-yellow clad girl was ecstatic. Jed was just watching her with a disturbed expression on his face. Seeing Viv act like a girl her age was something even the depths of his seemingly insane brain had trouble comprehending.

Well, Majestico's precious nose was soon powdered, his long dark hair brushed and after half an hour of positioning the spotlights so they could light his "even better side", the battle was ready to start.

"Okay, little boy," Majestico announced while Kale grunted in irritation "Here're the rules! I'm gonna use just my darling Luxio and you can use as many Pokémon as you want. The battle ends when one of us has no more Pokémon left. I win, you keep it quiet 'bout the film, you win-which isn't going to happen- you get my trailer for the night."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a sec!" the black-haired boy waved his hands frantically "You're saying you're gonna face me with just one Pokémon?! But I have two! Surely, even if you beat the first one, Luxio will be too tired to win again! And what if I had a team of six?"

"Whatever!" the lead cameraman shouted "Majestico has faced worse odds! Shut up and battle! _Lights, camera, action!_"

"Go, my darling Luxio!" Majestico tossed up a heavily-decorated poke ball after giving it a good luck kiss.

"Whatever, it's his loss," Kale said quietly to Blace "Go get 'em, boy!"

The Fire type cheerfully jumped off of his trainer's shoulder and landed in a battle-ready position. On the other side of the field, after the usual white flash, appeared a small blue lion with black mane. It looked around slowly and when it saw the Chimchar, just bridled up and let out a forced sigh.

"Oh, you're as handsome as usual, "cooed Majestico before ordering sinisterly "Now fry it with Spark!"

The Luxio obeyed immediately. His whole body was covered with blue electricity and the lion jolted forward. Blace waited bravely to be told what to do and just as Kale ordered a last second Dig, burrowed underground. The Electric type screeched to a halt and looked around with a dumbstruck expression. Soon enough, the Chimchar shot up from the ground and stuck Luxio with a vicious uppercut. The blue lion was sent flying due to the effective Ground type move.

"Hey, no fair!" Majestico accused and stomped the ground "Get up, Luxio! Iron Tail!"

The crew just kept on filming, doing whatever various jobs they had to. Jed and Chatot gave Kale and Blace a thumbs-up. Viviane… Viviane kept shouting Majestico's name and cheering him on. The Luxio got back on its feet and with an angered expression. Its tail, adorned with a yellow star at the tip, shined a bright white. The Pokémon jolted forward once again but this time jumped in the air and somersaulted downwards.

"Dodge it and use Scratch!"

Once again Blace managed to get out of harm's way in time. By jumping above his attacker, the little fire-monkey managed to get in a good position to attack. And soon enough, his sharp claws were scratching the blue lion's face. Majestico screamed something about ruining the perfectly combed mane and Viviane was getting angrier by the minute.

"What do you think you're doing, Kale?! You're ruining his reputation! Don't you know how the press will react? Let him win! NOW!"

The battling trainer himself was about to bark back but Jed interfered and shouted on top of his lungs:

"VIVIANE, ARE YOU INSANE?" the blonde threw him a look that would normally freeze the blood in his veins but the teen was too shocked to stop talking. "Kale is our friend and you're rooting for some stuck-up weirdo?! Shame on you!" the girl was surprised to hear the auburn-haired boy talk normally and was about to accuse him of feinting his craziness. But…

"Another word, missy, and I swear upon the Order of Guys That Had Swore to Protect Us from Werepsyduck, aka OGTHSPUW, I'm jinxing you with the Squishy Ears curse!"

The silence was palpable. Majestico and Kale forgot they were battling at all, same with their Pokémon, and just stared blankly. The filming crew's mouths were hanging open and only one of the mic-carrying guys managed to speak and ask, "We're cutting that part, right?" Viviane's face was redder than ever. Maybe it was the acoustics of the Gate but Kale could have sworn the slap must have been heard in Oreburgh.

"Shut up, you moron!"

Jed ended up falling backwards and hit his head on one unfortunate rock. The blonde covered her mouth and gasped in fear of what she had done upon hearing the cracking noise. Some of the staff around started shouting for paramedics. Only Chatot just stood calmly and after sparing an uninterested look to his trainer, stated:

"Yay! I think the rock just cracked! Yay!"

"You can't silence me! Go, Kale, go! Show him who knows how to… eat asparagus out of… control? Sorry, dude, I'm kinda off with the rhyming today."

Jed, who had sprung back on his feet just a second ago like nothing had happened, scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Viviane looked like she would pass out. Luckily, Majestico returned everyone's attention to the battle.

"Thunder Fang, now! He's distracted!"

"What the… Blace, Flamewheel, _now_!"

Despite the underhanded tactic, Luxio charged up the blue sparks in his teeth somewhat sluggishly. By the time he reached his opponent and prepared to crunch him, Blace had had enough time to cover himself whole in rotating flames. The fire cocoon proofed more than enough to withstand the jolts and soon Luxio was blown away by the explosion. The Chimchar was as well, but unlike the blue lion, he landed steadily and screeched to a halt after digging his claws in the ground.

"Honestly, dude, for all that hype, you're pretty bad as a trainer," Kale laughed and scratched the back of his head with an enormous grin. "Train some more and then come back, kay? Now where's that trailer?"

"Don't pass judgment yet, Stale," Majestico let out a false sigh before continuing. "Ah, the young today and their overconfidence. Luxio, it's time for our ace in the hole."

Jed, for all the Werepsyduck and other unearthly theories that haunted his maze of a head, couldn't help but feel uneasy when he noticed how the filming crew nodded to Majestico's wink. Kale, on the other hand, was oblivious and ordered Blace to finish it with a Flamewheel.

The blue lion had just gotten shakily back on his feet. Viviane, desperate to find what kind of move could have that 'ace in the hole' been was consulting her Pokédex (_ Luxio, the Spark Pokémon. By touching friends with its front paws, Luxio is able to communicate through the sparks it emits._). Jed and Chatot were waiting disaster to strike and Majestico was just repeatedly flicking his hair.

"Focus Punch!"

"Seismic Toss!"

"Low Kick!"

The rotating comet was just upon Luxio when a bulky blue humanoid Pokémon appeared out of nowhere. It took the hit and halted it with one hand before uppercutting Blace with a glowing fist just as the flames dispersed. The fire-monkey flew upwards where another one of the blue humanoids took hold of him and after somersaulting downwards several times, crashed him head-first into the hard ground. A third one appeared out of nowhere and harshly kicked the already dazed Fire type in the gut. To top it all, Luxio took part in the beating as well and sent Blace flying after finally hitting him with a Spark attack.

Kale could only recall his bruised, battered and scorched starter and ask with a shaking but furious voice:

"What on Earth do you think you're doing?! Four on one out of nowhere! That's cheating! You're disqualified!"

"Get a hold of yourself, junior," the cameraman replied instead of Majestico "as your friend said, do you know what losing will do to his career? Majestico can't lose matches on TV, that's bad publicity. Honestly, why must you 'professional' trainers always react that way? It's showbiz, mate."

"Always? You've done this before?" Jed nearly shouted.

"Of course, Majestico is a famous actor, he has no time to train his Pokémon like you lazy bums do. He has to film movies and that stuff. When things are getting bad for him, some of the Machoke just interfere, tip the scales a little and leave him to win. Besides, we're still gonna pay you some to keep quiet 'bout that."

"We ain't finished yet!" Kale announced with clenched fists "I still have one Pokémon left. I don't care if you throw a dozen Machoke against me, I'm still gonna prove you how pathetic you are! Starly, show 'em how it's done!"

The Flying type had just appeared in a flash, with righteous fury in his eyes, when Viviane asked with a shocked voice:

"You mean Majestico's a cheater? And how do you air the battles? The Machoke are clearly filmed!"

"Editing and montages, now shush!" the cameraman waved her off.

"Kale!" the blonde's voice nearly pierced the trainer's ears "Don't you dare lose to this no-good cheater!"

"Talk about mood swings," Jed mumbled and Chatot nodded in agreement, "And besides, do you think we'll let you cheat?"

"We've taken care of it, son, just don't make any sudden movements," the cameraman announced without even sparing a glance as another group of Machoke circled Jed and Viviane. One of them even grabbed Chatot by the beak in a vain try to shut him up.

_Machoke, the Superpower Pokémon. With enough strength to lift a giant truck with one hand, Machoke are often used to do extremely heavy work._

"Fighting types, eh? At least I have the type advantage," Kale mumbled to himself before addressing his partner "Starly, we're playing against the odds here. No show this cheater your Aerial Ace!"

"Hah, he's a Flying type, boy. I won't even need help here. Luxio, use Spark and be done with it."

And so, the blue lion coated itself once again with blue sparks and sprang forward. The little brown bird facing him didn't even blink and just sped up even more. Cutting streams of air swirled around him and just as they were about to clash, Starly flickered out and appeared again above Luxio before ramming into him. The Electric type had just hit the ground when, upon hearing Kale's commands, Starly begun whacking him with one Wing Attack after another.

"Help Luxio!" the cameraman ordered the Fighting types when he saw the lion couldn't handle his opponent itself. The Machoke swiftly surrounded Starly but the Flying type, one small little birdie surrounded by bulky giants, met their stares without flinching.

"Agility! Show 'em your Wing Attack, too!"

One of the blue humanoids had just punched forward, only for his fist to meet nothing but air as Starly disappeared with blinding speed. And then appeared again and again, hitting and running, and laughing in his own language every time he scored a hit. Seeing the strange battle dance and how his Pokémon managed to fight four-on-one made Kale proud. But at the same time, something inside the boy told him that Starly had faced this kind of odds before… without being the victor.

But this time he had a chance and despite what would anyone advise, the Starly met a wild Cross Chop with his glowing wings crossed as well. It was somewhat hilarious, seeing a little Starly trying to hold off a Machoke, but Kale knew his partner had been blinded and shuddered as he saw how the Fighting type easily pushed back.

"Staaaar-liiiiii!"

The Flying type had suddenly let out a blood-chilling shriek and, yanking free his wings, had jolted forward in an unordered Aerial Ace. The attack hit the Machoke dead on and he was pushed back for meters- the brown bird just kept on going forward after the hit. But alas, his fury was his undoing. One of the other two humanoid Pokémon jumped in front of him and just as Starly was about to dodge, rammed his glowing fist into the Flying type. One punch after another, the Machoke avenged his brother by using his opponent as a punching bag. And then, as he had done with Blace before, uppercutted the bird and sent him flying up.

Kale's heart sunk when he realized it was over. He was cheated out of his victory. The last Machoke had taken hold of his Pokémon and the boy could only watch as the Fighting type somersaulted downwards, as if in slow motion, to execute the Seismic Toss. Only a few meters were left…

The ear-splitting sound that followed cracked several of the cameras' lenses. Pokémon and people alike covered their ears, trying in vain to cut off the unearthly screech. The Machoke holding Starly dropped his victim and despite being in mid-air, instinctively tried to cover his ears. And just then, a large glowing tail rammed into him and sent him crashing into the cave wall. The other Fighting type didn't even comprehend what was happening as something rocky wrapped around him before tossing him aside and knocking him out.

Starly managed to land somewhat shakily and shook his head in an attempt to clear it. His trainer however, could only stare at the familiar scar on the Onix's face.

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"Quick, in here!" Vlad beckoned his brother and stormed into some random trailer. One short female shriek later he was out, apologizing and with flushing red. "Not here, Draco- here!" the older twin corrected himself in an irritated voice. The two grunts swiftly hid in the neighbouring trailer.

"He's a ghost I'm telling 'ya. He's gonna find us soon!" Draco shouted frantically and started shaking like a madman. Vlad's fist served as medicine once again. "Shut it! There're wigs and clothes and stuff here. We're gonna do what we do best!"

"Run away like cowards?"

Another punch.

"No, disguise ourselves."

Some five minutes later, the twins were out of the trailer. Their new looks could have fooled anyone. Draco had put on some medieval peasant suit. Vlad was looking like some young nobleman and his wig was long and dark. Much like Majestico's own hair. Unfortunately.

"Hey, you two!"

Seriously, one more time hearing those three words, and Draco was committing suicide.

"Glad you two have showed up on time. Didn't you phone to tell us that you're stuck in a traffic jam in Jubilife?" the director questioned. Vlad could only answer with a prolonged 'Erm'. "No matter!" the movie-maker beamed a smile before shouting to the crew "Come on people, the doubles are finally here and we can film the scene."

Not a minute later, the two unfortunate grunts were in the center of attention surrounded with cameras and with scripts in their hands. Seeing there was nothing left to do, Vlad just shrugged at Draco and inspected the script. Several minutes later…

"What the ACHOO is this ACHOO?! The protagonist is some unknowing village boy who's actually a prince and after a week of training with an old drunken motherACHOOO he learns how to fight like a live-long experienced master?! And just after a day of knowing the princess they're stranded in a cave and instead of lighting a fire they ACHOOOOOO?!"

Vlad grew redder and redder before shouting: "For Pete's sake, stop sneezing!"

"Sorry, my hay-fever is suddenly kicking up," Draco apologized while scratching his head sheepishly.

"Hay-fever?! You don't have hay-fever, moron!" Vlad shouted and whacked his twin's head- only for Draco's wig to fall off.

"Hey, you two!"

"What now…" Vlad begun before freezing mid-sentence. Julian was making their way to them and ordering guards to block their escape routes. "How the ACHOOO did he get here so fast?"

The older twin swiftly grabbed his brother by the collar, yanked Draco's poke ball off his waist and ordered a Smokescreen. When Seviper executed the move, he grabbed the snake-like Pokémon by the tail and, with his brother hanging from the other hand, ran away shouting.

"Less sneezing, more running!"

After what seemed like an eternity running down the cave, they finally saw the welcoming white light of the entrance. Without even looking back, they headed to the first car they saw- a rather expensive looking cabrio, and hopped in.

"Oooh, the brand new Tauros Royaldo!" Draco cooed with shining eyes before starting to shout again "Vlad, Vlad, he's gaining on us! VLAD, START THE CAR NOW!"

"I CAN'T DO IT IF YOU KEEP SHOUTING!" Vlad's shouts came from below the driver's seat. "Why did they have to place those wires below the seat? There!" the twin happily said as the engine roared to live. Vlad was still upside down when Draco took hold of the wheel and rammed his foot on the pedal. The cabrio jolted forward with Seviper's long tail and Vlad's legs sticking out. As it disappeared into the thick bushes, the disappointed Julian heard Draco shouting: "So long, sucker!"

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"Pathetic."

One simple statement. But everyone could just stay still like statues and struggle to comprehend the situation. The giant rock snake looked around with pride in his dark eyes and then just crawled away to his trainer, who was casually leaning on a nearby stalactite. The awestruck crowd just parted in two as the Onix passed through. The Rock Snake Pokémon made his way without rushing and slowly wrapped himself loosely around the red-haired boy. The Rock type's eyes lazily inspected his 'audience', as if to see whether someone would challenge him, but they were all still too surprised to react. Kale was the first one to speak up.

"Honestly, Nigel, can't you just say 'hello' like normal people?" the bespectacled boy questioned and shook his head "And what do you mean by 'pathetic'? I was outmatched four-on-one! I'd like to see you try fighting at these odds!" Kale added with more vigor in his voice.

"A moderate performance Onix, you were somewhat sluggish. We'll work on your speed later," Nigel told his Pokémon as he recalled him and didn't even look at the boy currently shouting at him.

"Hey, don't play dumb! Answ…"

"Keep your voice down, I'm not deaf," the redhead cut him off with an irritated voice "I wasn't talking to you. Although considering you were facing amateurs you could've done better," he added with a smirk before continuing "I was talking to that prick over there," Nigel announced and nodded towards Majestico.

"Honestly, what kind of coward gangs up his opponent? And then airs an edited version on TV and pretends he actually knows anything about battling?!" Kale and Viviane, the only ones who actually knew Nigel beforehand, were surprised by the anger in his words. "You're a disgrace to every Pokémon trainer out there! Getting the glory without knowing you've won it because of your own abilities is nothing! Battling is about _earning_ the victory,_ proving_ to your opponent you are better by overcoming your weaknesses and making them your strengths. And if some of you think you could stop me from interfering again, I'd like to see you try," the boy finished and meaningfully tapped the three miniature spheres on his belt.

"Not that anyone wants to listen to any more of your idealistic nonsense, kiddo, but how did you get past security?" questioned the cameraman with a dumbstruck look.

"Easy, Onix just dug another entrance. We got into the Gate itself nearby and I heard the commotion. I'm glad that I showed up. Losers," Nigel announced with a smirk.

"You actually helped me?!" Kale questioned with the look of a child realizing Santa wasn't real on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, now finish your battle so I can see that prick over there humiliated like he deserves," Nigel bridled up and waved Kale off.

"Oh, I'll finish him alright," the bespectacled boy finally answered after several seconds of just looking at Nigel and suddenly gave a thumbs-up to his rival. "Plus, I'll do it in a single strike! Starly, you ready?"

The little brown bird answered hastily in his own language and slowly got up with a few weak flaps of his wings. Majestico just flicked his dark hair and mocked:

"Aw, am I supposed to be scared now that you've gotten your pep talk?" then the angered expression got back on his face again "Luxio, we've played enough. Fry him once and for all! Spark, full throttle!"

"Oh, no," Kale answered with a sly grin as the blue lion got covered in blue sparks once again "You're supposed to be scared 'cause you've made _him_ angry. And that's one baaad thing, trust me."

Majestico raised his eyebrow and beads of sweat trickled down his face when he noticed the Flying type's expression. He was just hovering in mid-air and glaring at the approaching Luxio, as if not even caring about the ferocious Electric type several times his size that was attacking. A pulsing vain was visible on the bird's forehead.

"Aerial Ace."

The calm but confident command was immediately followed. One weak flap of the wings so he could get some distance. A faint glow adored the little wings for a moment. Another flap-this one to help adjust his form and properly glide through the still air. Kale could've sworn his saw light dancing around the beak and the tail feathers. A third flap.

The ones who blinked back then missed the moment as Starly jolted forward with blinding speed. The razor-sharp streams of air swirled around the tiny form once again but the glow was getting gradually stronger and stronger.

"Staaar…"

The Luxio kept on charging, confident in its type advantage. Kale started noticing that the light had covered his Pokémon's whole upper body.

"Staar…"

The Luxio finally noticed its opponent barely visible eyes through the light and suddenly doubted its victory. Now everyone saw that the Flying type's whole body was covered in light. The Aerial Ace's streams intertwined with the light and created a stable, arrow-like veil around Starly.

"_Avia!_

The glowing arrow that was Kale's Pokémon flickered out of existence for a moment before it rammed into the Electric type with blinding speed. The blue lion was lifted up and as his opponent kept on pushing forward, it ended up crashing through a stalactite and into the cavern's wall.

"Star-star-viiiiaaa!"

Kale didn't even hear the bird victorious shrieks. All he could do was stare silently at the enlarged form, the prolonged crest, the white spiky pattern covering the face. The boy quickly consulted his blue Pokédex and smiled as the device confirmed what he was seeing.

_Staravia, the Starling Pokémon. The evolved form of Starly. Staravia flies over forests and fields, and travels in large flocks._

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""WAAAAH, my life is ruined! How will I look my fans in the eyes after they see me losing like this?!"

"Relax, Majestico, relaaaax… I said relax, you overgrown baby!" shouted the cameraman as he punched the celebrity after seeing that just words wouldn't help. "We'll still show you winning! We've got the needed footage from the first battle and we'll just cut out entirely the second one. The people will be told it was just a one-on-one match, that's all."

"Wait a minute!" furiously shouted Viviane before Kale could even open his mouth "You're saying that after all Kale went through, you're still showing a cheap edited version of this prick winning?!"

"Hey, what happened to the 'Dear Mr. Majestico' in all those letters you said you've sent me?"

"Shut it, Lamestico!" the blonde threatened with raging fire in her blue eyes and the celebrity just whimpered.

"Yeah, we're airing the battle. Deal with it. And you know what? We're neither paying you, nor letting you stay in any trailer. You've attacked my Machoke, driven me nuts and even broke some equipment! I don't care if you blab about it- no one would believe you anyway! Now beat it!" shouted the reddened cameraman.

Viviane looked ready to argue, Kale was about to voice his disgust and Nigel just called out Onix and prepared to leave. Jed on the other hand…

"Here me, oh wretched souls! Hereby I, Jed, and he, Chatot…"

"Yay! Keep me outta this! Yay!"

"…we curse you and we shall extract our righteous revenge upon you! Repent! For the end is nigh!"

Jed then proceeded to pull out a red flute from his red-and-orange jacket's sleeve. Just as he took a deep breath and 'played' it, without anything happening, everyone voiced their opinion:

"Is he… you know…" Nigel confusedly asked Kale and gestured to his head.

"He is! And he's driving me crazy!" Viviane hissed.

"Nah, he's just eccentric," was the bespectacled boy's simple answer.

"Oh, for Pete's sake! Guards, throw 'em out!" pleaded the cameraman while facepalming.

"Ma-ma!" Majestico stuttered while shaking in fear.

The Machoke were just about to grab Jed and lead him away when a strange flapping noise echoed in the whole cavern. It got stronger and stronger and everyone, sans Jed and Chatot of course, looked around worriedly. Majestico looked like he was ready to faint. As distinctive high-pitched shrieks started echoing around as well, Nigel suddenly proclaimed:

"Of course! That's a Poke Flute! We didn't hear it so that means he actually has summoned…"

The redhead couldn't even finish his sentence because out of nowhere, a blue-and-purple wave of flying, and shrieking, Pokémon was upon them. The flock of Zubat and Golbat, along with the lonely Crobat here and there, obscured everything for around a minute before flying away in search of a place where they wouldn't be disturbed. The surprise 'attack' had left everyone disheveled, expect for Jed, who was just standing where they had seen him last with an enormous grin on his face.

"Majestico, Majestico, your car's missing!" shouted some random staff member who had just arrived.

"What?! My brand new Tauros Royaldo! I spent millions on it! I'm feeling fai…"

And then the celebrity finally passed out. The cameraman looked ready to tear them apart and Kale had just started considering whether they could outrun a crazed middle-aged man when something suddenly swiped him off his feet. Finding himself on Onix's back along with the rest of his friends, the boy threw a questioning glance at Nigel but he just shook his head as if to say: "Don't mention it. No really, _don't_."

"Jed, what on Earth did you do to his car?" Viviane asked with wide blue eyes.

"I did nothing to his car. I did _this_ to him," Jed announced and pulled out a CD out of his pocket. "The unedited version of the battle. Rico had a friend in Jubilife TV, remember? I bet they'd kill for the chance to be airing the real deal."

"Jed, you're a mad genius!" Kale congratulated his friend with gratitude in his voice. Jed let out a strange, hoarse laugh, something between a Mamoswine snoring and a sick Exploud singing. The teen apologized with a trace of disappointment in his voice.

"Sorry, haven't gotten that one right yet."


	11. Mining for Trouble

**_Chapter 11:_**  
_**Mining for Trouble**_

The city of Oreburgh woke that gloomy morning to a vicious downpour. It seemed that the sky had been torn open, and all the water in the world had decided to relocate itself to the mining city. Most of the locals decided to stay home, save for the unlucky ones who had to reach their workplaces on foot, and all the Pokémon had all but vanished from the streets. Scattered groups of miners, grumbling in their drenched raincoats, could had been seen around the city as they tried to repair stuck the canal-locks that guarded their precious mine shafts.

If one cared to pay attention while trying to stay at least somewhat dry while walking the moody streets of Oreburgh, he would have noticed the group of kids running from cover to cover. The blonde girl was obviously irritated and tried to protect herself with her yellow umbrella as much as she could. The older boy, one in his early teens, just tried to keep up with his male companion while happily splashing in every puddle along the way. His rainbow-colored raincoat just served to strengthen the air of childishness around him. The younger boy however, didn't even bother to use the drenched blue umbrella in his hand. The bespectacled trainer just sprinted as fast as he could and allowed himself to stop only after entering one of the city's landmarks- the Oreburgh Gym.

"Kale, you better win it! I don't want all the running in this downpour to have been for nothing!" commented Viviane as soon as she entered the gym. Jed had fallen behind a little to 'smell the rainy roses' as he had put it.

"Don't worry, Viv, I'm gonna earn that badge in no time!" Kale gave his friend a thumbs-up and flashed a smile while trying to get the wet hair out of his eyes.

"That's the spirit! But I'm afraid you ain't gonna win with just optimism and guts," announced a cheery voice from somewhere behind Kale. A young man in a miner's outfit had just come out of the door on the far end of the corridor. "Although you'll have to wait a little. Just got another challenger a few minutes ago."

The bespectacled boy didn't even need to put on the glasses he was currently wiping from all the rain to recognize the clatter of chains. Behind the gym leader had appeared another boy their age- a redhead dressed in mostly black in red and with a thin chain attached to his jeans.

"Nigel, where did you disappear to last night? You just left us at the Center and hightailed it as fast as you could," his rival questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I went home. No sense in staying at the Center."

"You live here in Oreburgh?" Viviane asked with slight surprise in her voice.

"Well, duh, that's what I said, genius," the boy stated flatly.

"You got Werepsyduck 'round he…" Jed's question was cut off by the gym leader who waved his hands in front of him with an amused expression on his face.

"Now, now, kids, let's not argue," the adult redhead suggested while scratching what part of his head was accessible under the helmet. "Ah, developing rivalries, even after a thousand times it never gets old!"

Kale and Nigel opened their mouths simultaneously but their attempt at disagreeing was swiftly canceled. The chief miner flexed his fingers and announced cheerfully while positioning his helmet:

"My name's Roark, if you don't know it yet, and this is a Rock type gym. All battles are three-on-three. You're allowed to switch Pokémon during the course of the battle, I'm not. The winner is whoever manages to knock out all of their opponent's Pokémon first. Win and you get the Coal Badge- one of the eight needed for participation in the Sinnoh League. Nigel was the first one here so he gets to battle me first. I'll need an hour or two after that to treat my Pokémon. Any questions?"

Kale noticed the look Roark was giving them and after realizing they hadn't introduced themselves and doing it, the trainer shrugged and mentioned:

"Might as well leave it for tomorrow."

Viviane seemed ready to strangle him for making her go to the gym in the downpour for nothing. Jed was busy with counting the floor tiles and even Roark, despite giving strange looks to the boy inspecting his gym's floor thoroughly, looked surprised that a begging trainer would put off a gym battle just like that. Nigel however, for Kale's great displeasure, voiced his opinion.

"You don't have three Pokémon yet, don't you? He just wiped your smile off when he mentioned the three-on-three rule. You've got only two so far, one a Fire type and one- Flying type. And you're planning on challenging a Rock type gym? Pathetic," the redhead finished with a smirk.

Kale's fuse, naturally, went off immediately but Roark defused the situation with the experience acquired in numerous situations like that.

"No need to fight, boys. Relax, Kale, not everyone has three Pokémon when they reach Oreburgh. And types aren't the most important think either. I suggest you go search for a third addition to your team in the mine. There are some Fighting types going there occasionally so they could hone their skills. They would be good for facing me. Or you can check out the outskirts and see whether there are Water types wandering around in the rain," Roark finished with a shrug.

Viviane's bright blue eyes pierced Kale with a meaningful look and the trainer had no choice but to oblige.

"It's better to look somewhere indoors, I guess. We'll check out the mine," the bespectacled boy sighed in defeat.

"But we're taking a taxi this time," the yellow-and-black clad girl announced as she exited through the sliding doors and opened her umbrella. Jed groaned in frustration that his chance of splashing around had been denied.

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"So that's the famous Oreburgh Mine, huh? Look's like any other mine to me," Viviane announced after hastily going in to hide from the never-ending rain. Kale quickly followed, afraid that Jed would decide to include him in the mudsling war the teen had just declared to the certainly not amused Chatot.

Despite what his female companion had said, the mine looked pretty advanced to Kale. The boy was pretty sure ordinary mines didn't have conveyor belts distributing coals to different parts of Oreburgh. Nor did they have a complex system of shafts and tunnels spanning the whole city so they could let in fresh air and let out the dangerous poison gases.

As the trio ventured forward, more and more miners crossed their way. Most of them didn't do more than glance at the kids- Roark had declared the mine a free place to train for the locals so a couple of young trainers wasn't something new to be seen around. The only thing that amazed them was that the kids had come the day the sky was spilling every spare drop of rain it had. None of the locals that frequented the mine had arrived to train that day.

"Okay, guys," Kale gestured to his friends to stop and announced his plan "we don't know how deep we'll have to go so we'll stay together. We're looking for rare and strong Pokémon, preferably with advantage over Rock types. Jed, you lead the way 'cause you're a weirdness magnet and the probability to encounter a super-rare Pokémon raises with around 200% when you're leading the charade."

Jed took his mission to heart. He's enormous green backpack was immediately opened and a miner's helmet with a flower design was soon pulled out of it. The helmet was followed by a hooded bright blue cape and a long rope which Jed slung on his shoulder. To all that crazy stuff, Viviane had gotten somewhat used to- but the war paint he applied to his face was too much to bear.

"Sure, let him lead and we'll end up lost, fall through a hole on the floor and then be sacrificed to a forgotten deity by a tribe of Werepsyduck!" the blonde paused in horror when she realized what she had said "SEE?! HE HAS OFFICIALY DRIVEN ME CRAZY!"

The echo soon traveled over the whole cave system and many miners scratched their heads in confusion what unfortunate soul had dared anger such apparently feisty female. One of those who didn't ask himself that was an old chubby man, busy digging a hole just around the tunnel's corner. Poking his balding head to see what was going on, he smiled upon seeing the kids and greeted:

"Well, good day, young ones. Are you maybe here to look for rare artifacts like me?"

"Uhm, no sir," Viviane answered, somewhat embarrassed for her previous outburst. "We're here to look for a Pokémon for my friend's team."

"Ah, but of course!" chimed the old man with a soothing voice "How silly of me not to realize you are a traveling trainer here to challenge to local gym. Well, I don't know about any rare Pokémon that may be of use to you. But beside what I know of the usual cave-dwelling ones, I haven't got much knowledge on the subject of the local fauna. I'm only here with my trusty friend Sandslash to look for historically valuable relics."

When it heard its name mentioned, the Ground type poked its head around the corner and waved before returning to his digging with vigor. Kale was quick to approach it and scan the bulky rodent with his blue Pokédex.

_Sandslash, the Mouse Pokémon. The evolved form of Sandshrew. When it runs at full speed, it sends up a thick cloud of sand in order to hide itself._

"You flatter me by being interested in my partner," heartily laughed the archeologist while stroking his wild mustache. "Do you know that clues and legends point out this cave here as a place where an artifact related to a Legendary Pokémon is hidden?"

"I doubt it," Vivi retorted "It's just all that. Clues and old tales. We don't even know if Legendaries exist. They're probably only fairytales that make people waste their life looking for them in vain," she finished with a strange undertone of anger and disgust in her voice.

"But… but I think I've seen one. Back at Lake Verity. I did pass out immediately after that but I'm sure I saw something!" Kale insisted as if in fear that Viviane would laugh at him. The well-mannered old man came to his help.

"But legends say there is a Legendary Pokémon sleeping at the bottom of Lake Verity! Mesprit, one of the Lake Trio, as we archeologists, refer to them. The Pokémon that was said to have created emotions and the one that rules over them. Rumor has it those three are able to project their souls and partially interact with the living world around their habitats. And if you've never heard of it before, that means you can't have imagined it, son! You have seen Mesprit!"

It took some time for the young trainer to process the information. Jed patted him on the back before returning to investigating their own footprints and pondering whether they had been left by a heard of Werepsyduck. Viviane threw a rather skeptical look at the boy and the old man, who was laughing with whole heart at the news that someone had actually required evidence of a Legendary's existence.

"You should be glad, son. It is considered that trainers who see a Legendary at some point in their career are bound to succeed in their quest. I sincerely hope you do."

"But why appear before me?" pondered the black-haired boy while scratching his chin.

"Well, I already told you Mesprit is the being of Emotions. It may appear before people who share those traits. It is closely associated with the elements of passion…"

"Like fire?" the boy suddenly asked.

"Like fire."

Kale unconsciously touched the smooth surface of the sphere attached to his belt and asked himself whether it was just a coincidence that he had picked up the Chimchar not that long ago. The one that he had clicked with from the get-go. Would things have been different now if he's hand had grabbed another poke…

"Enough contemplating our navels! We're here to search for a Pokémon, remember?" Viviane reminded harshly with hands on her hips. Soon the trio left the kind old man and his Sandslash to their digging and picked a tunnel at random.

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"Is this even supposed to be here?" Jed amusedly asked while poking the yellow stem of the creature they had encountered.

Said Pokémon was currently hanging upside-down from the ceiling, its numerous vines wrapped around the beams placed to keep the tunnel from collapsing. The flytrap-like Pokemon's teeth-filled mouth was widely opened- nearly to 180 degrees- and it was blocking the whole tunnel.

_Carnivine, the Bug Catcher Pokémon. Carnivine latches onto tress in marshes and lures its prey with its sweet-smelling saliva._

"This is no marsh!" Viviane said in frustration after hearing her yellow Pokédex's entry "It's not even supposed to be hanging here! And does it expect someone to be stupid enough to walk right into its open mouth?!"

"Oooh, I wonder what'll happen if I do that?" Jed wondered with wide eyes and placed his hand in the Carnivine's mouth. Of course, after an audible crunch, his hand was elbow-deep into the Grass type's mouth. Viviane facepalmed herself and Kale quickly tried to pry off his friend's appendage from the carnivore's jaws. The mission, after a lot of pulling and both of them ending up in a heap on the floor, was a success. During the whole process the Carnivine just stared at them passionlessly like nothing was happening.

"It must've wondered in and lost its way," Kale shrugged after getting back on his feet" Let's go back and try another tunn…" just as he had walked past the blonde, Viviane turned around and sucker-punched him with all the strength she could muster.

"HOW DARE YOU, YOU PERVERT!"

"Viviane, what on Earth…" Kale protested while adjusting his glasses but was cut off once again.

"You groped my butt!" the girl accused while furiously pointing at him. Kale groaned at hearing another stupid accusation and was about to retort when he spotted it.

"Uhm, Viv, you might want to…"

"Don't you dare ogle me!" she screamed upon realizing he was pointing at her thighs. The blonde tried to lengthen somewhat her yellow spiky miniskirt- only to realize there was something _wrapped_ around her thigh. She hadn't noticed before because she was infuriated after sensing something touching her bottom- she had thought it had been Kale but…

"Viv, seriously, if you value your pigtails, don't move," Jed advised with his usual cheery smile which the girl found so inappropriate for the current situation. The Carnivine had slithered its vines around the beams without them noticing- and they had crawled across the floor from behind them and had ensnared Viviane.

Kale had just taken hold of Blace's poke ball and Jed had just pulled out a retractable shovel out of from his backpack, when the Bug Catcher Pokémon made its move. The Vine Whips pulled the girl towards it and the blonde shrieked in fear. The coordinator expected large fangs to pierce her flesh but suddenly, she found herself on the ground. The Carnivine had pried off her backpack and was currently rummaging through it. After finding some candy bars and a few cans of Pokémon food, it threw back the bag, swallowed them whole and returned to its passionless stance of hanging upside-down with wide-open mouth.

"Well, that was some luck," Kale sighed in relief and noticed another Vine Whip creeping behind his back. "Okay, okay, take some and go," the boy sighed again, this time in annoyance, and tossed some candy bars to the Grass type.

The Carnivine finally broke its statuesque routine and looked quizzically at the spiky-haired boy. After his affirmative nod, the candy bars were swiftly snatched and eaten. And to show its gratitude, the Grass type lunged at Kale and chomped down on his head. After some hysterical shouts on his side and lot of pulling from Jed and even Viviane, the Carnivine waved them a cheerful goodbye and headed down another tunnel.

And just as the trio thought their misadventures for the day had ended, a series of tremors shook the tunnel and as dust and pebbles rained from the ceiling, the thunderous roar of an explosion echoed around.

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"Come on, old coot, hand over the plate! At your age I bet you know what's good for you," the redhead said in her usual irritating girlish tone. Despite the minor setback of the archeologist's Sandslash digging their way out of the blocked tunnel, the operation was a success. Her contact had been right and indeed, her coveted prize and ticket to her Boss' approval was currently in the hands of one fragile old man. He was cornered from all sides. All they had to do is snatch the plate, dispose of him and hightail it out of the mine before those annoying miners came to check what the whole noise was about. Explosions, in a mine of all places, never went unnoticed.

"I don't know who you or your goons are, Miss, but I'm not giving you this artifact. Its place is in the museum for everyone to see and…" the archeologist's passionate speech was cut of by the snapping of Mars' fingers. Her partner, the pudgy white-and-gray feline known as Purugly, lunged forward with bared claws.

Alas, the vicious slash got intercepted by Sandslash, who was curled in a tight, spiky ball. Purugly hissed and retracted her hurt paw- the Ground type had some razor sharp quills. But even they were not a protection enough for the cat-like Normal type's Hyper Beam. The guy was a scientist, not a battler, and so was his Pokémon, noted the Commander. But despite glancing worriedly at his partner, the old man kept on clutching to the glistening rectangular object in his arms. Mars once again eyed the ruby-colored Plate and pictured herself offering it to Cyrus. His nod of approval, his praise, oh, how she longed for them! And what Mars wanted, she was used to getting it.

"Finish him."

The guy was done for, she just knew it. Pokémon knocked out, his old age, circled from every side by a dozen grunts. All factors that spelled 'death' for him and 'victory' for the young woman. If only they could escape without anyone seeing them, this would have been the easiest mission in her career as a Galactic Commander. Purugly reached the man in a single leap and slashed at him…

Only to find her claw once again stopped. This time by the crossed glowing wings of a brown, angered bird. Despite the surprise, the experienced Normal type just kept on pushing and eventually sent the Flying type staggering back. Just as she was about to lunge at this annoying interference, all hell broke loose.

A rotating fireball smashed into Purugly and sent her sliding back for a few meters as her claws dug in the ground and worked as brakes. A small yellow rodent with a sadistic expression of joy and a regal looking feline appeared out of nowhere and started shooting lightning jolts around. The Zubat and Golbat of the Galactics stated falling down like flies. A chubby green Pokémon joined the mayhem and started ramming into the ground support consisting of various Glameow and Stunky. And above everyone's heads, a colorful Flying type jolted around in circles and kept on shouting for help.

Mars couldn't believe her rotten luck. Who could have arrived so quickly? The miners were supposed to be on the other end of the mine, still pondering where the explosion had happened and evacuating the mines! The redhead's eyes frantically looked around to find the one responsible for the possible ruining of her dreams.

"_You!_"

"_You!_"

Both speakers were pointing at their opponent in shock. Mars was the first one to find the words needed to describe her fury.

"You, the same brat from Verity, are here to ruin my plans again?! And you've brought friends this time! _Are you stalking me or something?!_" the hysterical shout, somewhat funny because of her girlish voice, echoed around the cavern. Then, with a malicious smile and malevolence in her eyes, the redhead cooed. "Well then sweetie, it's time to for some well-deserved payback."

Kale didn't even need to see the Purugly lunging at him with claws glowing blue-black, to realize he was in for it. His short time with Viviane had thought him what happened when angry women talked sweetly. Only Jed didn't seem to get that so important live lesson. Otherwise he wouldn't have asked innocently "Is the nice strangely-dressed lady the one attacked? Maybe we should help her."

But even Viviane didn't find it appropriate to smack him up the head at a time like that. After the initial surprise, the Galatics had quickly regrouped. Munchlax was pinned down with great effort, Pikachu and Jolteon were under Confusion and Blace and Staravia were on the defensive against Purugly.

"You and your friend managed to get me by surprise back in Sandgem. But that's not the case now. I hope you've said your prayers, little children, because we've played enough. Purugly, Shadow Claw!"

Mars' speech, spoken with such euphoria that it was unnatural, seemed to give the feline Pokémon the needed motivation. Her claws glowed blue-black once again and the feline lunged with a vicious growl towards Kale's two partners. Upon his command, Staravia blocked with a crossed Steel Wing- an attack it had apparently learned upon evolving. But the Flying type was obviously outmatched. Purugly was far heavier and with more experience- the Normal type steadily pushed back and was about to brake through the made-up barrier. After some quick thinking on the boy's side, Blace was ordered to jump from behind his 'colleague' and strike with Flamewheel. The tactic worked just fine and the grey-and-white feline was pushed back a little. But she just shrugged off the attack and after getting up on her hind legs, came crashing down upon the rotating fireball. The veil of flames scattered with a burst and the Chimchar was pinned to the hard ground.

With a wide Cheshire smile Purugly started gathering the yellowish energy of a Hyper Beam inside her mouth. Blace struggled in vain but his opponent's physique was too much for him to fight against. Kale could see the fear that crept its way inside his starter's eyes and his legs moved by themselves.

The battle kept on raging around him. Roar of thunder filled the air as Jolteon and Pikachu let out Thunderbolt after Thunderbolt in their forced daze and fought as much against themselves as they did against the Galactics. Munchlax's green body was barely visible under piles of Glameow and Stunky as they had long since given up on trying inflicting damage from afar through his incredibly thick skin. Another explosion appeared in Kale's peripheral vision as the boy run past Jed's partner and a Metronome-induced Selfdestruct nearly blew him away along with the grunt's Pokémon and the Normal type himself.

Staravia let out a battle cry and jolted towards Purugly but Agility failed him for the first time. Just as he had flickered out before appearing behind the feline, she had stretched out her wound whip-like tail. The spring-like attack sent him flying back and the Zubat and Golbat sunk their teeth into his weakened body and started to leach the life out of him. The Hyper Beam was ready. The black-haired boy knew he couldn't make it on time…

"_Blace!_"

He thought the ceiling had finally shattered after all those explosions. Large chunks for rock came crashing down, each one striking Purugly and bouncing off. The feline hissed in pain and the yellow stream of light went off mark, making a deep scar through the walls and ground. Kale heard Mars' girlish voice shouting curses and just couldn't resist glancing at the Commander.

The young woman's eyes, filled with rage and disappointment, were currently piercing through something just above the place where Blace had been pinned down. A small group of men, armed with pickaxes, shovels and hammers, was standing at the end of one the numerous tunnels that opened up in that particular gallery. They were dressed in grey jumpsuits and despite their angered faces, the way their arms trembled and sweat dripped down their faces showed they were afraid. They were miners after all, not a trained police force.

"So you managed to get here on time," the redhead hissed and gestured with her hand to a nearby grunt "But we have a plan for this situation as well," she coyly winked as the grunt threw a poke ball and a bluish hexagonal Pokémon appeared. The red-and-white sphere's usual light had just disappeared when another, at least a hundred times stronger, erupted like a newborn star. The Flash sent waves of light across the whole gallery and even some unprepared grunts were momentarily blinded.

When the light finally subsided and Kale was able to see through the dark patches seemingly permanently burned into his eyes, he saw that the criminals had all regrouped into a tight circle. Of course, Mars was in the center along with Purugly and two male grunts were holding tightly the nearly-unconscious archeologist next to her. The rectangular artifact with the color of the setting sun was now clutched tightly in her trembling hands. Barely able to restrain the euphoria that was washing over her as she triumphantly held her prize, Mars announced in a voice even more high-pitched than usual:

"We have the old coot. If you want him to live to see the day he can dig junk again, then stay back. Only one of you has to go with us and show us the quickest way out. And don't you even think of getting us lost in those tunnels! And… the boy comes with me."

Kale gulped under the Commander's ferocious gaze. The miners were at a loss at what to do, Jed was just trying to keep the unconscious Munchlax on his feet and Viviane was tightly clenching her just-recalled Pokémon's poke balls. The miners' Geodude, the ones Kale had mistaken for actual rocks when they had rammed into Purugly, were nervously rolling around the no-man's land between the groups and waited for some order. With a low but feral growl, the little fire-monkey jumped on Kale's shoulder and from there to the ground and sent a challenging look to the one that wanted to take his trainer away. The bespectacled boy could just stare speechless at the Chimchar's back and his heart skipped a beat at the thought that the Blaze accident would be repeated all over again. The flames that served as his starter's tail hissed and flickered, reflecting their owner's anger. Another figure joined the silent Fire type- Staravia, despite barely able to even keep himself airborne, took part in his friend's last stand. Viviane prepared to call out her partners once again…

And then he saw it. The thin green-brownish vine was slowly slithering around Mars' leg and gradually making its way up. The woman, still shaking in pleasure as she fantasized about giving the Plate to her Boss, didn't notice it at first. But then, in a sick parody of Viviane's initial reaction when she was in the Commander's shoes, the redhead hissed and dug her nails into the face of the male grunt standing behind her.

"_You dare touch me?!_"

And then it finally hit her. Mars had just taken a cautious look at the leg she realized she wasn't able to move and the vines spread across her body like forest fire. The redhead could only let out a surprised scream as she was yanked off her feet and slammed backwards into a lonely rock. The vines, that everyone could see were coming from somewhere behind it, tightened even more and the one across Mars' throat threatened to strangle the Galactic Commander. Despite being unable to move and nearly out of breath, she desperately shrieked:

"Purugly, cut them off! Quick…"

The loop around her throat shrunk once again and the silhouette which Kale had expected to see from the beginning hopped onto the rock. The Carnivine didn't even bother preparing to face the assaulting Purugly and just let out a series of calls in its own language. The feline Pokémon was just about to finish it all in one last leap when all Hell seemingly broke lose.

What could only be described as a stampede lunged through one of the side tunnels and washed across the whole gallery. The miner's Geodude were joined by numerous members of their evolution family, Onix roared and cut of escape routes with their enormous bodies and an enormous flock of blue-purple bodies engulfed the Galactics and their Pokémon.

"The Pokémon! They've… they've come to help us!" exclaimed in shock one of the miners.

It was obvious the Galactics had failed and the grunts that still had a battle-capable partner had started to give up seeing how outnumbered they were. But to Mars, giving up was not an option. This demonic brat had stripped her off her well-deserved reward once again. Cyrus had punished her for the near-failure back at Lake Verity. Severely. And she knew she was going to be punished in a far more dreadful way this time. But to live another day, to have another chance to win the praise of the one that had showed her the path the Universe should follow, was her primary concern now. With all the strength she could muster, the lithe woman bent her arm as much as she could and her shaking fingers were barely able to reach the button of the miniature red-and-white sphere.

Another blue mirror-like Pokémon appeared in a flash. Seeing the current position of its trainer, Bronzor spun like a top and, as blue light engulfed its rotating form, rammed into the Carnivine. The Grass type wasn't expecting the attack and was sent flying. Its thick vines finally let out of their vicious hold the young Galactic Commander.

Mars fell on her knees and desperately took several deep breaths of air. Her trembling fists clenched and the redhead bared her teeth before slowly getting up. Some of invading cave-dwellers noticed the Commander and headed in her direction but Bronzor and Purugly swiftly circled their trainer and fended off the attackers. But wave after wave was coming and the two Galactic Pokémon knew they were just borrowing time for their trainer to run. And they were okay with it. Bronzor had changed several trainers among the lower-ranked members of the Team and Mars was just another owner to him, a being he was forced to serve least he got punished. Purugly on the other hand, had known the Commander since before she had become 'Mars'. And the once scrawny and filthy Glameow that had been saved from the streets by the kind red-haired girl wasn't putting her life at stake because of duty. It was because of debt. Mars had given her a new life and Purugly had found a new purpose in it- to be forever by the Commander's side. If that day was the day she had to finally repay her debt- then so be it. The feline Pokémon fought with the vigor of a mother defending her child. Her claws had long since started to bleed but she kept on slashing and scratching. One of her legs was probably broken and it felt like needles were lunged into her spine every time she moved. But the fatigue was gradually making her slower, weaker, more and more vulnerable. And dread filled her heart when she thought that some giant rock tail may put an end to her life before her trainer managed to escape. But Mars just stood there on her wobbly feet and stared at the cornered, defeated and cowering grunts with an empty look. Then her eyes searched for the precious plate but to her horror she found it back in the hands of the archeologist, who had been pulled into the tunnel along with the kids by the miners.

To blazes with it!

The young woman pulled out a small pen-like device with a red button on the top from her pocket and shrieked like a banshee:

"_I'm not failing him again! If I can't have this plate, then no one can!_"

_Click._

For the umpteenth time that day, Viviane felt like an Exploud had shouted into her ear. The sound of explosions echoed around her and as the shockwaves sent tremors across the cracking ground and dust rained from above, one of the miners grabbed her hand and pulled the girl in the opposite direction. The bombs must have been set somewhere far off- otherwise she was sure they would have been all buried by then. The cave Pokémon who had come to their help scattered in different directions, some of them burrowing into the ground or flying through the high-placed and inaccessible for others tunnels. The Galactics ran almost in circles and their panicked shouts nearly drowned the roar of the fleeting Pokémon. The blonde girl managed to glimpse at the Carnivine, who was hopping into some unknown direction. Mars was just standing in the middle of the panicked crowd not far from the Grass type. Viviane felt some strange feeling of regret as she saw how the feline was trying to make her trainer run but was repeatedly ignored. And then boulders came crashing down and sealed the tunnel just seconds after the fleeting group guided by the miners had escaped from the cavern.

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"And that's all that happened, Officer Jenny," Kale finished and took a sip from the herb tea that Nurse Joy had so kindly given them all.

After the accident in the tunnels the miners had insisted to accompany the kids and the aged gentleman to the Pokémon Center where they could be checked for injuries. After a quick call the Oreburgh Officer Jenny had joined them and after letting the Nurse do her duty and act all motherly around them, even when it came to the balding archeologist, had proceeded to interrogate them.

Soon after Jenny had excused herself and returned to the station so she could start the investigation. The miners had left as well after a concerned Roark had stormed into the Center to check whether the kids and his subordinates had been injured. The young man immediately praised his men for their courage and urged them to go home and rest.

And just as only the trio and the archeologist were left in the Center's lobby, it finally dawned on Kale that he had completely forgotten why he had went to Oreburgh Mine in the first place.

"Aww, man! I couldn't catch a single Pokémon! How am I going to face Roark tomorrow?!"

"Relax, Kale," surprisingly it was Viviane who tried to comfort him "My Pokémon won't do you any good but you can use Jed's Munchlax. _Right, Jed?_" she fixed the teen with a glare.

"Of course!" cheerfully announced the eccentric boy "I'd be careful with Metronome though, we don't want a repeat of today's accident."

"Thanks, you guys! But still, I have to catch one soon. Training is my responsibility and I can't expect to win at Gyms by just using a Pokémon I just caught. Sooner or later, I'll need a stable team," Kale sighed while daydreaming about the possible members of his little squad. Blace just pulled some of his hair this time- it seemed the little fire monkey was finally learning how much pain his trainer could bear.

"Young man, I feel indebted to you and your companions after you helped me and Sandslash today," announced the balding gentleman as he stood up and dusted off his traveling clothes. "Thanks to you I am alive and well and I have managed to keep this precious Plate. So in gratitude of your help, I'd like to give you this. A Skull Fossil!"

"Whoa, thank you!" Kale exclaimed as he and Blace, who was currently on top the trainer's head, loomed over the dome-shaped piece of rock in the archeologist's hands. "Uhm, what's exactly does it do?"

"Well, the fossil by itself is just a rare and beautiful piece of history," heartily laughed the man "But recently they had developed a machine here in Oreburgh that can bring ancient Pokémon back to life using DNA gathered from the fossils! You just take it to the Oreburgh Museum and after some time it will be resurrected and you will have a rare addition to your team!"

The bespectacled boy couldn't find words to express his gratitude to the aging archeologist.

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"'_Coal mining and you!_" Jed announced as he read out loud the sign at the entrance of the Oreburgh Mining Museum. "I wonder if they have those thingies where you sit on a chair and they spin it and it keeps on spinning and spinning and spin…"

"Enough already!" ordered Vivi and 'playfully' punched her companion's shoulder "That's a mining museum not a space center!"

"But didn't space centers have those Wailords that jumped out of the pool and ate from your outstretched hand?" the teen mused with an innocent look as they entered thought the glass doors. Viviane somehow managed to resist the urge of strangling him. Kale just facepalmed.

"What'd 'ya kids want?" grumbled the grumpy old man in a lab coat behind the information counter. Kale was just about to answer when the man leaned on the counter angrily and exclaimed "Oh, for the love of ancient stone carvings! I'm ole' 'ya know, I don't have time to wait for 'ya all day long!"

Blace hid behind his trainer's shoulder and the spiky-haired boy slowly raised his finger and, with a surprised look at the informant's reaction, tried ask nicely. The old coot cut him off again. While spitting like a sneezing Water type. Viviane swiftly hid behind Jed to protect herself from the liquid onslaught.

"Don't 'ya dare wag that finger at me, pup! I've been digging fossils and making science discoveries for 55 years! Before your own parents were born! I deserve some respect! Now scram before I call security!"

"Edgar! How many times do I have to tell you not to scare the guests?"

The speaker was a woman with long fiery red hair in a lab coat like the one the old man was wearing. She had just come out from a door behind Edgar that probably led to the museum laboratory. The old researcher scoffed and grumbled before storming out with all the speed an angered senior citizen could muster.

"I'm sorry kids, he's always like that. Besides, he's furious that he's stuck at the info counter today because the girl's sick today. Sadly, he was the only one we could spare," sighed the woman and plopped her elbows on the counter. "So, how can I help you?"

The trio was glad that they were finally going to be heard out but just as Viviane tried to speak this time, a man with dark red hair peered out of the back room and shouted:

"Hey, does Dr Tyler remember by any chance that she promised she would double-check the charts before the end of the work day?"

"Silly me," the Doctor laughed "I'm sorry, kids, but my husband is right. I've important work to do. Dear, come here and see what these kids want!" shouted Tyler before storming off.

"Kids? What kids?" asked the other Dr Tyler with a surprised expression and peered out again. After noticing the trio he exited the back room somewhat clumsily, tripping over his shoes and spilling coffee on his lab coat along the short trip to the counter.

"I'd say 'good day' but it certainly isn't good with all that rain. So, are you kids the group from the Jubilife Trainers School?"

"No. We…" Kale tried to explain but was cut off for the umpteenth time.

"Ah, yes, you must be the local Scouts Committee!"

"No, we…" Viviane blurted with an agitated voice.

"Oh yes! Don't tell me, you are the… kids we hired to give out leaflets around town! Am I right or am I right?"

"FOR THE SAKE OF THE GUY WHO INVENTED FRENCH FRIES, NO! WE'RE HERE TO GIVE YOU A…" Jed finally snapped but was cut off by a certain other redhead's sarcastic comment.

"Oh, yeah, invite crazy people to shout in museum so you could bring more people in. That's just genius, Dad."

"Nigel, what are you doing here?!"

"Dad?!"

"I don't get it. Who's crazy- Viv or Kale?"

"Nigel?" came out the woman's voice from behind. "Nigel, you're finally back sweetie!"

The red-haired doctor swiftly rushed to her son and embraced him. Nigel's cheeks flushed but he just stood there, not knowing how to react in a situation like this. Kale forgot entirely about the fossil and sniggered.

"Nigel, but shouldn't you go and get you starter from Professor Rowan?" suddenly asked the female Doctor.

"Mum, I already did a week ago. I got home yesterday, remember? We talked over the phone but you and Dad had to work 'till early morning in the lab."

"But, son, then you should go and challenge Roark! You're collecting badges, right? Or were you a coordinator?" asked the redhead's father.

"I did that already, Dad. I told you I'm challenging him this morning. You even said you'd come watch me but I guess you were too busy here," Nigel sighed and showed everyone the brown-and-silver helmet-like badge pinned on the inside of his black jacket. The Coal Badge glistened under the museum's artificial light.

"Oh, we're so sorry, dear, we completely forgot!" exclaimed the boy's mother and covered her mouth in shame "Dr Kenzo is visiting the Pewter Museum to check out how their machine works so we've been fine-tuning the Fossil Resurrector all day long. But you know, since you have earned your first badge, I guess we should celebrate it as family! We haven't had a diner together for a long time."

Her husband immediately agreed and they were just about to leave their lab coats and go when Kale remembered why he had gone to the museum in the first place.

"I have a Skull Fossil right here! The archeologist said that you can revive it for me."

Not more than a second later, Nigel's parents had flanked Kale on both sides and were ecstatically questioning him about the fossil. After realizing he didn't know a thing and was just given the fossil, the Tylers snatched it from his hands and asked him to come back the next morning so they could tell him when to expect his resurrected Pokémon. Just as they were about to go into the lab again, Nigel's mother gave her son a peck on the cheek and apologized.

"I'm sorry, dear, fossils are hard to come by these past few months so we have to take the opportunity when it is presented to us. That's our golden chance to check out the new upgrades even before Kenzo comes back. Maybe we'll have dinner together some other time."

The glare that Nigel shot at his rival made Kale realize that for the first time in his life, one of his peers was looking at him the way Mars had earlier.

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"I can't believe it's still raining outside," Viviane moaned as they walked by one of the windows along the Pokémon Center's corridor. "I feel drained. I'm skipping dinner and I'm going straight to bed," the blonde yawned and unlocked the door to the trio's room.

"I've a load of my favorite potato sweet bombs, I don't need to visit the cafeteria anyway," Jed shrugged and Kale added with a tired voice "Besides, you barely eat anything, Viv, it's just not healthy. And lucky you, I have to stay up late and think of some strategy for tomorrow. And I can only guess what Pokémon Roark has!"

"I'm sure you're gonna pull it off, brainiac, just don't leave the lights o…"

The blonde didn't even manage to finish her sentence as a pair of vines wrapped around her body and hoisted her up. The boys rushed inside to see what was happening but just as Kale tried to look up a swift kick connected to the side of his head. He could only see stars and explosions of light so the boy left his other senses to sort it out for him.

"Don't look up, idiots, I'm wearing a skirt!" Viviane's shrieked while trying to pull down said clothing article. Quite a feat, considering her arms and legs were in the firm hold of the vines.

"How on Earth has Carnivine gotten here?" the black-haired boy heard his male companion ponder.

"I guess it has followed our scent or something. It probably has no home now after the explosions and we did give it food so it thinks it can stay with us," Kale suggested and scratched his chin.

"SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!" Viviane screamed as the Grass type that had somehow attached itself to the ceiling started gnawing on her head.

After a long time of planning, trying to reason with the Bug Catcher Pokemon and luring it with candy, Viv was finally freed. But the Grass type seemed keen on staying with them and just kept rummaging through their stuff and trying to eat the pillows. A sudden idea came to Kale's mind.

"Hey, Carnivine, how about you join my team? We'll go to every place in Sinnoh, have battles and that'll give you the opportunity to gnaw on many heads as we win badges and eventually even the League itself!"

The green flytrap-like Pokémon spitted out the torn pillow and scratched its chin with one of its leafy arms. Seemingly in deep thought, the Grass type mumbled to itself before finally grinning _very_ widely and nodding. Kale cheerfully pulled out a poke ball and was about to tap Carnivine's head with it.

"Okay, boy, ready?"

The Grass type shook its head no.

"What? Didn't you say you agreed?" Kale questioned when he noticed that Carnivine was blinking rapidly, in a way that somehow resembled bathing one's eyelashes. "Girl?"

She cheerfully nodded and chomped onto the boy's outstretched hand. Kale was so surprised by his arm disappearing in a jawed mouth that he could only stare as red light engulfed Carnivine from within and the poke ball snapped shut and pinged after trembling several times. Then Carnivine was immediately out in a flash and after tackling her new trainer and nearly crushing him with her vines, she affectionately gnawed his head.

"Something tells me that training this one isn't going to be easy."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -- - -

The bright light pierced her eyelids. A soft, humming sound was all she could hear. The woman realized she was lying- on something warm and comfortable. Her bed maybe? Was it time to get up? But no, something in the back of her mind told her she wasn't in her room. Then where was she? How had she gotten there? All she wanted to do is find a comfortable position and just lie there for hours and hours. As her mind awoke nearly completely, the distant dull pain and fatigue returned to her joints. Groaning, she mustered all her willpower and opened her eyes, only to be blinded by the lamp positioned just above her head.

"Had any good dreams, _Sleeping Beauty?_"

The passionless voice snapped her out of her daze completely. Mars' neck cracked as she jerked her head and hissed at the man with long blue hair, who was sitting next to her bed.

"You've better not tried anything funny, _Prince Charming!_"

"You give yourself too much credit, Mars. You know I would never do anything like that. Your pretty face doesn't work on me the same way it works on those buffoons that are the target of your 'special' missions," her fellow Commander explained calmly and cupped her cheek for several seconds before retracting his hand with a mocking laugh.

"Let's cut it straight to business, shall we?" Neptune suggested and crossed his feet. "Our leader is _very_ disappointed in you, Mars. It's not like you to fail missions. You haven't been yourself lately. I'm concerned," finished the man with a false look of worry on his face. The redhead tried to cut him off but he just resumed his speech.

"I admit it must have been some fire show, but your performance at the Oreburgh Mine cost us resources, manpower and most importantly, the Plate. It's not me that you should be telling what exactly happened, I don't even want to know. I'm just here because our leader burdened me with the distinctive pleasure of waiting for you to wake up so I could brief you."

"Then quit your theatrical displays, you drama queen, and do it!" Mars ordered with a smug smile at the thought of Neptune being stuck for hours because of her.

"As you know, I, too, had a mission in the area near Oreburgh. One I, unlike you, completed. Around 5 o'clock in the afternoon I got a call from your transmitter. I was surprised as to what our local princess would want with a humble peasant like me, but I picked up nonetheless. Hearing meowing and hissing on the other side of the line took me aback, I'll give you that. Enough to personally arrive at your location. Imagine my surprise when I saw you lying hidden in some bushes, unconscious, and guarded by a half-death Purugly."

Mars just stared and nodded as her mind tried to figure out how did she and her companion escape the crumbling tunnels. Neptune paused for effect before continuing.

"From what I gathered from the other survivors, you flipped after realizing you have failed your mission. Shouting something about 'not failing _him_ again' you blew up nearly half the tunnels in the mine with the explosives that you were supposed to use after escaping so you could just divert the attention of potential pursuers. And you have apparently gotten suicidal, Mars. What grunts survived from your squad told me you just stood there as they tried to find an exit and Purugly was trying to make you move. Eventually, after realizing you were too stubborn to live, she had to knock you out. And since the last grunt had escaped by then, Purugly must have dragged your body across the crumbling tunnels to safety. And then, despite being on the brink of passing out herself, she had enough brains to try and signal us somehow. While watching over you until we arrived."

Mars could just nod. Now that she thought about it, her reaction seemed utterly stupid. She had never thought for her partner when she pressed the button. And yet, Purugly had risked her life to get her to safety. Her colleague let her assimilate the information before adding:

"She has been treated and you can probably see her if she isn't taken away from you. You have an hour to rest and then you are to visit our leader and explain your actions. And face the consequences as well. But as a good colleague, I have left out the suicidal part out of my report and taken care of our own witnesses. After blowing up the mine in hysterics, you escaped on your own after your cowardly squad had left you for dead."

"Gee, that's so sweet of you," Mars hissed with a fake smile on her face. On the inside, her heart raced at the thought of possibly losing her partner and the fear of Cyrus' possible punishment.

"Seriously, Mars, you're getting careless," Neptune pointed out with a stern voice "Uncontrolled emotions are a weakness, a dent in your defenses that can be exploited by someone who knows you well. They are shackles chaining us to a ship ready to sink any minute. You of all people should not forget his words. Keep your emotions under control and eventually overcome them. You will end up dead soon if you keep that up. Honestly, I don't know how Cyrus still keeps you around with your lousy temper. You'll probably be the death of this organization."

"Are you accusing me of possible betrayal?!" hissed the female Commander with cheeks flushed from both anger and embarrassment.

"Betrayal? Never! You, of all us Commanders, are the most loyal to our leader. I'm sure you would give your life for his any day of the month. But your vigorous loyalty is a weakness you must overcome. It makes you far too easier for him to manipulate you. And once he sees your will is weak, you will have to go."

"He would never!" protested Mars with clenched fists "He was the one that brought me here, he was the one that brought all of us here! A new world with us as its rulers, to shape it in anyway we see fit. He was and is willing to share his dream with us! Have you forgotten that already? Maybe you're the potential betrayer, not me!"

"Have you forgotten with who you are speaking? Betrayer? I, who have paid the price of following our path, who never even disobeyed a single order when _it_ happened? I have earned my place in the new world, unlike you," Neptune finally calmed down but his cheeks stayed flushed with anger "But you are so blinded by the image you have chosen to see that you do not recognize reality anymore. Cyrus has helped all of us, offered us the chance of being literal gods in a world of our own! He allows us to choose our appearance, change the design of our uniforms and countless little things that define our place in the food chain of this organization. But don't we ourselves offer strength and rare Pokémon to newcomers? Don't we seduce potential members with promises of fortune? And when they finally join and reality hits them hard, don't we make a 'good' name for ourselves by assigning them to good positions or sending our favorites on mission with a high success rate?"

Neptune paused and made sure Mars was all ears before continuing.

"We throw them bones to gnaw on. And when we finally don't need them anymore, we throw them away and find a new toy to play with. What keeps Cyrus from doing the same to us when he openly tolerates us doing it to them? What are we to our leader? I'm telling you this because I know that when you go up in his office after less then an hour, and he tells you to jump out of the window, you won't ask 'why'. You will ask 'where should I fall'."

The redhead's piercing glare was met without hesitation by the blue-haired man.

"Make no mistake, I will follow him to the end. But that doesn't mean I'm going to be a thoughtless pawn like you."

"Hah, like you are something more than me!"

Neptune's long hair hid the woman's face as he leaned forward and whispered into her ear before leaving:

"_I'm a puppet in his hands just like you, Mars. But I'm a puppet that can see the strings._"


	12. Roark & Roll

**_Chapter 12:_**

**_Roark & Roll_**

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I OVERSLEPT!"

Many curious people turned around to glance at the trio of adolescents that had just run past them. Most of them just shook their heads at the usual brash behavior of the young while some suit-clad adults shouted and shook their fists at the fleeting group. Not even caring about the sea of people he was currently dividing in two, the black-haired boy in the lead just kept sprinting ahead. Behind him trailed an obviously furious blonde girl, who occasionally shouted for him to slow down between her tired breaths. The second boy of the group seemed to be following the other two more on mistake than on purpose. The teen's wide grin and look showed that his mind was currently somewhere far away. And it certainly didn't quite match up with the frantic rush of the bespectacled boy and with the angry face of the girl.

"I thought I told you to set the alarm, Jed! Where was your mind?" Kale shouted behind his shoulder while busy dodging a mother pushing a baby-carriage down the crowded street.

"That mushroom spice I garnished the potatoes with must've been outdated. I dropped death like five minutes after eating them. I dreamt of talking Slowpokes prophesying the end of the world all night! And they tried to take my pants!" Jed shouted back while trying to squeeze between two bulky miners who were apparently running late or their job as well.

"I don't want to hear more! Please! One mental image burned into my brain is enough!" Viviane shrieked and immediately regretted sparing vital air for the sole purpose of shouting.

"And what about you, Viv? You said you were up at 9 o'clock! Why didn't you wake me and Jed up?" accused the spiky-haired trainer without even looking back. He took a sharp turn to the right and groaned. They had reached the main street- the most crowded part of all Oreburgh at that time of the day.

"Well, I decided to wash my teeth, do my morning routine… that kind of things. I was planning on waking you up after that. And I did!" the coordinator defended herself and screeched to a halt at the headlights, thankful for the red light. While she was breathing in the much needed air, Kale faceplamed .

"For Pete's sake, Viv, it was 12 o'clock when you woke us up!"

"And why did you stay up to 3 in the morning? I told you trying to come up with a winning strategy all night will do you no good," the girl barked back. The light changed to yellow. Viviane took as much air as she could and prepared for the upcoming sprint. With a ding drowned by the street noises, the light changed to green.

"Hold it right here!"

Kale had just jolted forward when a hand seized him by the collar before he could even take another step. Viviane was thankful to Jed at first but several sentences later, her killer intent was back on.

"Wait a sec, Kale," cheerfully said the teen without even panting or breathing hard "You go on without us. Viv and I are going to hit the shops and we'll be back with you at the gym in a jiffy!"

"I'm not against shopping whenever I have time but, Jed, HAVE YOU GONE COMPLETELY INSANE?!"

"Nope," chimed the teen without paying attention to the angry looks the passer-bys were giving them due to stopping in the middle of the bustling street. "Remember the talk we had when Kale was out to get another pillow for his bed after Carnivine ate the first three?"

"Uhm, yeah," the blonde answered uncertainly. The memories of that particular conversation were somewhat blurry…

_"Viviane I have something very important to tell you," announced the teen in cartoon-themed pajamas while standing up on his double-decker bed. And bonking his head in ceiling in the process._

_"Jed, shut up and sleep or I'll put the world out of its misery by killing you!" came the muffled shouts of the blonde who had put the pillow on top her head._

_"By cheering on for Majestico the other day," Jed continued without even paying attention to her words "you broke one of the fundamental laws of the Charter of Friendship. The punishment is to be decided by the closest friend of the offended party- that's me. Tomorrow you shall be punished for your crimes!" the teen announced ominously and pointed his finger at the form of the sleeping girl. And then just fell on his bed asleep in the matter of less than 10 seconds._

_"Oh, thank goodness!" Viviane cheered just as the hoarse snores of her roommate filled the room."Oh crap!'_

"What about it?" asked the present-day Viviane while suspiciously raising an eyebrow. "And what makes you think I'll do as you say?"

"If you don't I'm going to send those letter you've written to Majestico that I found on his fansite straight to Rebecca," announced the teen with his usual beaming smile. Viviane's heart skipped a beat.

"I'll kill you if you do that!"

"Maybe, but the letters will still reach Rebecca, right?" Jed questioned without even flinching under the tsunami of killer intent that was resonating from the blonde.

"Okay then. What's it gonna be?" the girl sighed and her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Nothing too fancy," shrugged Jed and pushed the grumbling girl in the direction of the nearby clothes shop. "Okay, Kale, I've got it from here. The surprise will be ready soon so we'll probably be at the gym before the first Pokemon faints. G'luck."

Kale could just stand on the brink of the sidewalk and stare blankly at the place where he had last seen his friends before the crowd had swallowed them whole. Several seconds passsed before the boy remembered what he was doing before Jed had gone into full-blown Jed Mode once again. He sure hoped Viviane wouldn't snap under the pressure and dismember Jed before he even had the chance of sending any letters. Just as the young trainer was about to cross the street a car came out of nowhere and screeched to a halt right in front of him.

"Need a lift?"

The bespectacled boy was just about to ask the driver if he was out of his mind when he noticed who the driver actually was. Julian Norrington was waiting for the boy's answer from behind the wheel of a very expensive yellow cabrio.

"Sure do," the boy smiled and jumped onto the back seat. "You've got one sweet ride, Julian. I didn't know you International Police officers were so well-paid," teased the boy while Norrington was shortening the distance to the gym more and more.

"It is certainly a beautiful car. The new Tauros Royaldo. It's Majestico's actually," explained Julian from behind the wheel with his usual passionless voice.

"You were the one that stole it?!" the spiky-haired boy shouted with eyes ready to pop out in surprise. "Man, I knew he pissed you off majorly but to steal his car? Won't you lose your job or something worse?"

"I didn't steal it," corrected the driver while taking a sudden sharp turn and nearly ejecting his passenger out of the car in the process "The car was found the other day hidden in some bushes near a nearby pond. The fisherman was really surprised and immediately called the police. I happened to be at the station at the time and realizing whose car it must be, I immediately offered my services."

"But you haven't returned it to him!" the boy accused, albeit teasingly. Kale's laugh was cut short when Julian screeched to a halt in front of the gym.

"We're here, oh almighty future champion," mocked the officer himself before adding "They didn't say _when_ to return it to him. A movie star such as Majestico is constantly on the move. Very hard to find, no?"

Kale was too stunned by seeing the man actually moving any face muscles not required for a sarcastic smile to answer him. Norrington winking was certainly a new one. Well, maybe the car's doing wonders even to an apathetic guy like him, thought Kale as he walked through the sliding doors of the gym once again. The unlikely duo headed straight towards the door from where the boy had seen Roark to come out the day before. He had guessed right and they found themselves in a very spacious hall. In the center was, of course, a specially designed field that was covered whole in rocks firmly rooted to the ground. The stands were on the right and it was next to them that Roark was kneeling and polishing… a round rock.

"Huh? Oh, hi, Kale! Here to finally challenge me? I thought you'd be tearing down the doors at 7 in the morning," laughed the redheaded gym leader and tossed the rag on a nearby stand. "We're ready to rumble, y'know!"

"Duude, gioooh!"

At first Kale was too surprised by the rock actually turning around and talking to him to realize it was actually a Geodude. But still, any new information was welcome. He had at least guessed correctly that Roark would be using some Pokemon from the most common Rock type family.

_Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Geodude is often found on mountain roads with half of its body buried in the ground so it can observe mountain travelers._

"Well, you already know the rules. But my usual referee is very busy in the mine today due to yesterday's… accident, so maybe your friend here can referee for us. Well, do you agree Mr…?"

"Norrington. Julian Norrington of the International Police," said the sandy-blond man in his usual monotonous voice and extended his hand. "I happen to have some battling experience, so I'll gladly help you out."

"Oh, you must be here to investigate the yesterday's bombing at the mine," Roark said with a sad voice while shaking Julian's hand. "I guess you're here to interrogate Kale and his friends?"

"That can wait until your battle is finished," stated Norrington and took his place at the referee's stand. "Shall we?"

"Yup, we're starting now," agreed the gym leader and he and Kale took their respective places on the opposite sides of the field. "Hey, Kale, now that I think about it, where are your friends?"

"Well, you see…" Kale scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly "Jed and Viv are…"

"OBJECTION!"

The shout resonated from the pink-colored walls of the gym and blended with the sound of the door being shot open with a kick. Jed was standing proudly in the doorframe and pointing with an accusing finger at Norrington. The teen was wearing an expensive-looking tuxedo of all things. Despite still wearing his purple sneakers and yellow beanie.

"Yourthesisisflawed! Themurdertookplaceat6:30 Whilemyclientwasstillinjail! !"

"Say wha?" blurted Kale while the two adults could just stare, Roark with a mouth slightly agape. Two white lights appeared in the room. The first one formed into Blace, who landed on top of his trainer's head with his lower jaw on the level of Kale's eyebrows. The second one formed into Chatot, who whacked his trainer with enough power to dent metal.

"Yay! Lay off the cactus juice! Yay!"

"Jed, I don't care, what you'll send to Rebecca, I'm killing you!" panted the blonde while clutching her chest. "I nearly had a heart attack because all of this running!"

"Nah, it wasn't all that bad, Viv. See, I'm fine!" the teen grinned reassuringly and stretched his limbs to show he wasn't feeling any fatigue. "Now go change. We're in luck and they haven't started yet."

"I'm still having doubts about that thing," growled the girl as she picked up the bulgy bag she had left down previously.

"Letters, Viv, letters," chimed Jed and grinned maliciously. "Be glad I had to be age appropriate!" shouted the boy and shook his fists at the direction in which the girl had went to find a free room to change.

"Jed, what on Earth are you making her do?" questioned Kale and Blace shrieked in agreement while positioning himself on the boy's shoulder.

"You'll see," the teen said absent-mindedly while rummaging through the rest of the shopping bags. "Guess I'll need some help with the equipment."

He tossed another poke ball in the air and soon Munchlax was out and looking for something do devour. The Normal type had just sniffed the air and was about to jolt to the kitchen straight through the wall when Jed grabbed his arm.

"Oi! Wait a minute, pal! Listen now, I'll give you double your usual triple portion if you help me with this stuff."

The Pokemon nodded vigorously and soon was given several video cameras and stands to carry. His trainer stood up and looked around while scratching his chin.

"Let's see now. Four cameras in all four corners of the field. They'll be on the easels. And one for me to shoot with. Perfect!"

The three other people in the room could just stare silently as Jed and his Pokemon positioned the video cameras. Kale finally snapped out enough of his confusion to speak.

"Jed, where did you get the money for all this stuff?"

"Relax, buddy, I've got some spare money on me," shouted the boy from the other side of the field while fiddling with a camera. "And when I saw this suit I just couldn't resist adding it to my costume collection. There! All set! The gym leader won't mind filming the battle, right?" Jed pondered and turned to face Roark. The redhead just laughed heartily.

"Oh, no, it's certainly not a problem. Not many trainers can film their very first gym battle and I'm always happy when one of them can do it! But he has to win for the video to be truly special to him, right?" shouted the young man lightheartedly at his challenger.

"If there even is a battle at this pace," murmured Julian, still staying on top of the referee's stand like some statue.

"Relax, bucko," Jed grinned and patted the man's back. Norrington certainly wasn't amused. "We're just waiting for Viv to be ready and we're starting. Oh, there she is!"

Kale's jaw nearly dropped once again when he looked at the direction Jed had pointed at. Viviane had just entered the hall. Her usual black attire was gone and in its place she was wearing a yellow cheerleader's outfit with a black stripe running across her chest. Yeah, Kale's mind had some trouble comprehending the picture. Viviane in a cheerleader's outfit. With yellow pompoms and all.

"Don't you dare say a word," hissed the blonde while clutching the pompoms in anger.

"And this, Kale, is my present to you for being such a good pal. And her apology," explained Jed ecstatically. "In your battle against that rotten Werepsyduck supporter Majestcio, she cheered for him in the beginning. Now she's going to do the same for you. Literally. If she can shout his name, she can shout yours, too."

"Uhm… thanks?"

"I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?" sighed the girl and slumped her shoulders. "Let's get this thing over with then!" she shouted with her usual tone. Even Norrington smirked with an amused smile at the girl's misfortune.

* * *

"Are both opponents ready?"

"Ready!" confirmed Roark and gestured to the field. Geodude immediately rolled there and let out a challenging roar.

"Ready!" Kale answered confidently and outstretched his arm so his starter could jump off it. "Go get 'em, Blace!"

The little fire-monkey landed gracefully and shrieked at his opponent.

_"Begin!"_

"Blace, use Dig!" instantly shouted the boy and his partner burrowed underground straight away. Roark and his Geodude didn't seem frightened in the least. All in a day's work, Kale guessed.

"Geodude, Defense Curl," ordered the gym leader. Only his slightly stern voice showed he was taking the battle seriously. The Rock type grumbled affirmatively and crossed his arms in front of him as a faint glow emanated from his brownish form. He waited for the attack without flinching but couldn't help but be taken aback when the Chimchar shot out of the ground several meters behind him only to dig back in immediately.

Both trainer and Pokemon tried to comprehend their opponents' strategy as the Fire type just kept on popping out from somewhere before going back underground. Taking note that his field was looking more and more like Swiss cheese, Roark decided to question Kale's tactics.

"And besides ruining my field, how'll just digging again and again help you win? Are you planning on making the ground unstable and trapping him underground or something?"

"Y'know, I actually never thought of that one," Kale grinned before shouting "Keep it up, Blace!"

The Chimp Pokemon shrieked in response while jumping out for a second only to dive back in. Roark decided to humor Kale and ordered Geodude to keep using Defense Curl. And so, several minutes passed with the Chimchar digging, and digging some more, and the Geodude raising his defense over and over, and over again. Finally, Kale told his starter to stop. Roark immediately took action.

"Rollout, now!"

The brown Rock type curled again but this time rolled forward with surprising speed. The Chimchar braced himself for the impact but just as the rolling freight-train was about to strike, a red beam hit Blace and he was dragged back into his poke ball. Geodude crashed into the unfortunate rock just behind where the Fire type was and reduced it to rubble.

"Phew, thank goodness I managed to recall him before that Rollout hit," said Kale and let out the breath he was holding. "I never thought you'd be using Defense Curl again and again and now I have to deal with this Rollout! Oh, man… whatever! Carnivine, I choose you!"

White light erupted from the red-and-black sphere that was tossed by the boy and a green-and-yellow flytrap-like Pokemon landed on the field. Or more appropriately, hovered above it with only her long leaves and vines touching it.

"Geodude, let's finish it off quickly! Rollout again!"

"Carnivine, Bullet Seed! Stop him in his tracks!"

The rock-like Pokemon had just jolted forward when he came under the barrage of yellow glowing seeds shooting out of the Grass type's mouth like gunfire. However, Roark's Pokemon didn't even seem to slow down. Kale barely had time to order Carnivine to dodge and the Bug Catcher Pokemon was nearly hit. Unfortunately, they weren't out of the tall grass yet.

"Jump off that rock and hit it!"

Barely registering his trainer's shout, Geodude almost missed the chance as he broke the attack before crashing into the rock and used his slender but muscular hands and the gathered inertia to propel himself into the opposite direction. The second Rollout struck the unprepared Grass type dead-on.

"Now hit it with Hidden Power!"

"Carnivine, hang on! Bullet Seed again!"

The Rock type used his hands to dig in the ground and stop himself before curling up again. His form glowed yellow and yellow-greenish bubbles circled around him before shooting at Carnivine. The Bug Cather Pokemon herself opened her teeth-filled mouth widely and shot out the barrage of yellow seed-bullets once again. Both projectile attacks connected mid-air and after none managed to overwhelm the other, exploded loudly. The center of the field was filled with smoke and Roark had his partner dive in straight away. The smoke engulfed Carnivine as well and Kale was afraid to order her to jump out. That would have made her an easy target. But then again, he couldn't see a thing in that smoke. Geodude could attack from anywhere and he wouldn't even see him.

Kale had spent the majority of the previous night devising some kind of a strategy, going through the movepools of his team again and again and trying to figure out what Pokemon his opponent would use. But despite guessing right on at least one so far, the battle certainly wasn't going the way he wanted. First of all, his actions had lead to Geodude's defense being raised to nearly insane levels. If his plan didn't work, he would probably be annihilated just by Roark's first Pokemon. But he needed to be able to see his opponent for anything to work. And with the Rock type lurking in the smoke, Kale could only pray for some luck.

"Okay, Geodude, nice work so far! Let's end it with Rollout!"

Desperate times called for desperate measures. It was time for improvising and hoping something would work out for him.

"Use Vine Whip to jump as high as you can!"

The small audience gasped as the rolling figure of Geodude made its way through the disappearing smoke. The Grass type extended her brownish vines and slammed them into the ground while pushing up and jumping at the same time. Carnivine's natural Levitate helped a lot- she managed to jump high enough for the Rock type to be unable to reach her after using yet another rock as a trampoline.

"Don't think it's over yet, Kale!" Roark exclaimed as Carnivine landed back. "Geodude, keep up the inertia and strike again!"

The Rock Pokemon didn't stop himself before landing but just used one of the rocks to slide on and change his trajectory. The rotating comet was nearing his opponent more and more and she waited patiently for her trainer's orders. Kale new this was the decisive moment. But the bespectacled boy couldn't help but ask himself whether his plan would do more wrong than good. Seriously considering ordering Carnivine to dodge again, Kale realized Geodude was about to make contact. It was too late to think- he only had time to act.

"Do it now, Carnivine! Vine Whip!"

But seemingly nothing happened and the Rock type shot upwards so he could hit Carnivine straight under the jaw. Jed and Viviane were already feeling sorry for their friend and Roark was feeling somewhat guilty for crushing an aspiring trainer's dreams so harshly. Geodude was just about to ram into his opponents face when he suddenly… stopped. While in mid-air.

Everyone gasped and asked themselves what was going on. But then they noticed the vines tightly wrapped around his muscular hands, mostly due to his own rolling coiling them so firmly. The Rock type crashed back on the ground and the vines immediately dragged him back and pinned him to the ground between two holes. The vines, the vines that everyone saw going down the two holes behind Carnivine and going out of the holes Geodude was currently between, were swiftly, but partially, retracted back to the Grass type's abdomen and Geodude was left effectively 'crucified' to the ground.

"You used the holes to sneak the vines from behind?' Roark inquired, not believing that this was done by the same trainer he was pitying mere seconds before. But his profession had thought him to get used to surprises. He didn't become a gym leader by just loafing around and waiting for his opponent to strike after all. "Geodude, try breaking free with Rollout!"

"Not this time!" triumphantly shouted Kale "Keep him pinned, Carnivine! And end this with Bullet Seed!"

Geodude tried to struggle but he couldn't even move his hands due to the vines threatening to pull them off. Carnivine loomed above him and opened her wide mouth just overhead. The barrage of glowing seeds lifted smoke once again but it took nearly half a minute of constant gunfire for the incredible defenses of the Rock type to bulge.

"Geodude is unable to battle! This round goes to Kale and Carnivine!" announced Norrington as Roark recalled his partner and praised him for his good work. Kale sincerely thanked his Pokemon as well but left her on the field.

"Superb strategy for a firsttimer, Kale," commended the gym leader as he tossed his second poke ball "But for a good strategy to work, you need the power to back it up. Let's see if you have it."

The red-and-white sphere erupted and a blue-and-grey bipedal creature appeared from the light. The reptilian Pokemon's dome-like head turned curiously around to check its surroundings. Upon noticing Carnivine, the apparent Rock type let out some strange sound- a mix between a hiss and a roar.

_Cranidos, the Head Butt Pokémon. Cranidos lived in the deep woods about one-hundred million years ago, and its cranium is as hard as steel._

"A hundred million years ago?!" exclaimed the young trainer while double-checking whether the display of his blue Pokedex showed the same image. "Isn't this thing supposed to be long-dead then?"

"He was," admitted Roark with a wily grin. "But I found what was left of him- a Skull Fossil- and resurrected him with the newly-invented Fossil Resurrector here in Oreburgh."

"A Skull Fossil?! Like the one I have?"

Roark clapped his hands and whistled.

"You're a lucky one then. Not many can say they'll have a Pokemon thought to be extinct in their team. Now let me show you what a Cranidos can do. Come on, boy, use Zen Headbutt!"

Kale was taken aback by the sudden change of pace. The blue-and-grey dinosaur leaned forward and rushed in like a spear. The blue dome on his head glowed brightly and the Pokemon growled as each leap of his strong clawed legs got him closer and closer to his opponent.

"Carnivine, Bullet Seed! Take him out before he reaches you!"

The Grass type didn't need to be told twice. The rain of bullet-like seeds was unleashed again but just as Kale thought that there was no way the attack would miss, Roark proved him wrong. Just after hearing one word- 'now'- the Head Butt Pokemon veered left with speed Kale didn't think he was capable of. The Rock type ran up to the tip of one of the bigger rocks and from there, jumped off in the opposite direction. Carnivine tried to follow but her aim wasn't good enough to keep up with her opponent's constantly changing trajectory. Cranidos finally landed on a near-enough rock and, after gathering his strength for a second, launched himself towards the Grass type like a rocket. Kale tried having his Pokemon dodge but the Rock type was too quick for Carnivine. The glowing spear-like head rammed into Kale's partner and sent her crashing into a rock and reducing it to pebbles.

"Vine Whip!" the boy shouted with desperation evident in his voice.

"Focus Energy!"

Carnivine's vines shot forward again in a zigzag pattern. Cranidos just braced himself for the impact and stiffened his body as a faint red glow covered his silhouette. The botanical whips swished through the air like bullets and each of them struck the Rock type in the face. The brownish vines then took a U-turn behind one of the rocks and coiled tightly around Cranidos. He was hoisted back and it seemed he was about to meet his teammate's fate. But he confidently positioned himself and instead of his back hitting the hard cold surface of the rock, his legs took the impact. The vines strained and Carnivine tried squeezing harder but using the boost in his strength and the leverage, the Rock type broke free and jolted towards the Grass type once again.

"Dodge and try Vine Whip again!"

"Zen Headbutt!"

Carnivine barely managed to avoid being ran over as Cranidos jolted past and his glowing head demolished three unfortunate boulders on his path before screeching to a halt. He was about to try his luck one more time when he noticed he couldn't move. Carnivine had sent her vines into the system of underground tunnels dug by Blace and had finally managed to surprise her opponent. The Grass type didn't take any chances- the botanical whips coiled around the reptilian like mummy bandages. The strong legs, the tail, the throat, even the stubby arms were roped and Cranidos was forced to kneel on the ground.

"Quickly, while you're still holding him!" Bullet Seed full power!"

The Bug Catcher Pokemon opened her mouth widely and after taking a deep breath, shot out at least double the usual glowing seeds. The rapid fire attack rammed straight into the Rock type's face, who wailed in pain.

"Flamethrower!"

"What the…?!"

It took some time for Cranidos to find the needed air but he managed to let out the infernal stream of fire on time. The glowing seeds were engulfed and reduced to ash in the matter of seconds and the jet of fire licked Carnivine's side- she didn't manage to dodge on time. The vines immediately let the Rock type go and he instantly lunged forward upon Roark's command. The glowing reptilian spear was just about to strike when a red beam hit the Grass type first and transformed her into energy right under Cranidos' nose.

Kale gulped when he saw the trail of demolished boulders along the path of the Rock type. Carnivine had taken several strong hits, one of them by a Flamethrower of all things, and Kale had to give her some rest if she was to be able to face whatever Roark threw at him next. If even 'next' came at all. He was prepared to face some kind of a slow brute, something that barely moved but was able to take a lot of hits and was good at hand-to-hand combat. The bespectacled boy didn't expect such a speedy opponent, capable of reducing stone to dust in such a way. And the only strategy he could think of in the moment was to fight speed with speed. Kale didn't want to fall back to his risky plan B, but he didn't have any choice. Plan B was no more than a nearly-rejected idea that he came up with last night. He had never expected to be forced to use it. No sense despairing before trying it, the boy thought, and tossed the blue sphere with a yellow 'X' adorning it.

"Staaar! Avi-staar!"

Upon materializing, the brown bird tried to look as threatening as he could. Wildly flapping his wings, Staravia took battle stations and exchanged furious glares with his opponent. Roark smirked confidently:

"Getting desperate, huh, Kale? Let's see who's faster than! Zen Headbutt!"

The dome-like head of the Rock type glowed blue once again and after just a second, he had launched himself forward from one of the rocks. Staravia waited patiently and just as he was about to be smashed, Kale ordered the Agility. There were barely any rocks above a meter left, due to Cranidos' rampaging attacks. Staravia appeared on Roark's side of the field and made a 'Come and get me' gesture to his opponent. The confident look on the Flying type's face infuriated the Head Butt Pokemon and he looked pleadingly at this trainer. Roark didn't disappoint him and Staravia was forced to use Agility once again to dodge the stream of red-hot flames.

Kale was actively sweating by that time. For his plan to work he needed Staravia to be fast. Insanely faster than usual. If the gathered speed and inertia weren't sufficient… well, Kale didn't want to think about it. One more Agility should be enough, thought the boy as he ordered the move and his partner seemingly flickered out of existence for a moment and left Cranidos to demolish part the field once again.

"Staravia, Steel Wing! And don't let him recover!"

The proud bird shrieked in response and become nothing but a lightning-fast blur as he jolted towards Cranidos. The Rock type didn't have time to react as the glowing wing connected with his abdomen and he was sent crashing into a rock. The reptilian shook his head in a vain attempt to clear it but didn't have any time as Staravia's glowing wing struck once again and sent Roark's Pokemon rolling across the ground.

"Finish him!"

"Grab him by the wings! Flamethrower, full throttle!"

The Rock type couldn't even register where his opponent was- he just braced himself for the impact and dug his claws deeply in the ground. The Flying type let out a triumphant shriek and dived towards his opponent with outspread wings. Staravia rammed into his target with blinding and sent him sliding back… only to be stopped in his tracks. Several meters behind his initial position, Cranidos had finally found the strength to stop his opponent's onslaught. His stubby hands' claws had dug deeply into the bird's outspread wings and the two Pokemon were currently face to face. The Rock time grinned cockily and after taking the deepest of breaths, exhaled a jet of fire that engulfed Staravia completely and sent him crashing into a nearby rock.

"Zen Heabutt!"

The Rock type's whole body was tattered and bruised but his dome-like head glowed blue once again. He crouched for a second and then shot forward for the umpteenth time. That's some legs, the boy thought, strong enough to ground him for the last attack! And such jumping pow…

And then it hit him. The only insane way that actually made the risky plan B usable.

"Staravia, dive underground! Steel Wing and aim for the legs!"

Roark was ready to think his opponent had gone nuts when his jaw nearly dropped upon witnessing the following action. The Flying type managed to barely dodge the attack and then… dived straight into the system of tunnels dug by his teammate in the beginning of the match. Cranidos was wheezing by then and could just look around in a tired daze. Everybody held their breaths as they waited for Staravia to strike. And then, with a sudden swishing sound, the Flying type bolted from one of the many holes and used his whole body to spin mid-air and take the 90 degrees turn. Staravia was nearly touching the ground when he zoomed past Cranidos and slashed one of his legs with a glowing wing. The Rock type growled in pain as the bird dove in the tunnels once again.

"Dodge it!"

But Roark's partner just wasn't able to do it- upon trying his injured leg gave in and the fatigue overwhelmed him. With his opponent being finally a sitting Psyduck, Kale knew it was finally time to strike the finishing blow.

"Staravia, finish it with Aerial Ace!"

"Zen Headbutt, full power!"

The Rock type's head glowed the brightest blue so far and he leaned backwards in readiness. The Flying type shot up from one of the holes and as the razor-sharp streams of air swirled around him, rushed towards his opponent.

"Staaaar-avia!"

"Craaaaa-nidos!"

Cranidos ignored all of his pain and did the only thing he could do- headbutted the Flying type with all of his might. Staravia's onslaught was immediately halted and both Pokemon stood still for a second, non able to overpower the other, when both attacks pushed them back and they ended crashing in rocks in the opposite directions. Staravia shook his head and tried to stop the world from spinning. The brave Flying type shrieked loudly and tried to get airborne again but just as he had managed to rise a feet above the ground, he lost consciousness and collapsed.

Cranidos wailed weakly and under Roark's encouraging words, tried to stand on his weakened knees. Using his one healthy leg, the rock type looked like he was about to stand back up…

"Oh, come on! What kind of beast is this!" shrieked Kale in desperation.

And then Cranidos' will finally caved in and the Head Butt Pokemon collapsed on the ground.

"Both Cranidos and Staravia are unable to battle! This round is a draw!"

Both trainers recalled their partners and congratulated them for a job well done. Kale was suddenly finding himself, despite his will, respecting Nigel more and more. If that was only Roark's second Pokemon, who had managed to knock out nearly two of his, Kale didn't even want to think what kind of monstrosity he was about to face now. Carnivine was probably a hit away from fainting and Blace, despite being at full health, was at a severe type disadvantage. The young trainer tried to dismiss the thoughts of a probable loss and whispered to the poke ball in his hand before tossing it.

"Please, Carnivine, please, just one more. One more and we'll win. Now go!"

Carnivine had just materialized once more on the field when Roark called out his last Pokemon. An Onix. Carnivine gulped as her eyes met with the ones of the towering monstrosity made of rocks.

"Okay, Onix, show 'em what you've got! Stealth Rock!"

Both Kale and his Pokemon were on edge as a couple of rocks rose from the ground and hovered in circle around Carnivine. However, despite their ominous way of appearing, they didn't seem to do a thing. Something bug Kale about that move, the boy just knew it was something important that he had to remember, but the young trainer just couldn't put his finger on it back then. Still, the spiky-haired boy wasn't one that wouldn't take a golden opportunity when it was given to him.

"Carnivine, let it rip! Bullet Seed, max power!"

With all the strength she had left, the Grass type took a deep breath and then exhaled the glowing seeds with the speed of a machinegun. The speedy onslaught seemed to damage the giant rock snake a lot. The Rock type growled in pain and tried to cover his head with the rest of his body.

"Don't cave in, pal, Double-Edge!"

"Dodge with Vine Whip!"

Just as the Rock Snake Pokemon uncoiled himself like a spring and shot forward with speed one wouldn't think he was capable of, Carnivine used her vines to bounce up once again. The Onix missed her by an inch and rammed straight into the ground.

"Latch onto him! Bullet Seed!"

The Grass type did just that. Using her Vine Whip, she tightly coiled around the neck of her opponent and latched onto him. The second stream of glowing seeds struck Onix straight into the head and as much as he tried, he just couldn't pry Carnivine off. Seeing his partner roar and ram in one rock after another, Roark decided it was time to end the charade.

"Screech! And then finish her off with Slam!"

The Rock Snake Pokemon finally stopped his rampage and instead let out the eeriest of shrieks from his gaping maw. The small audience and the judge covered their ears and Kale thought his glasses would shatter. Roark just tried to ignore the noise as best as he could. The soundwave attack finally made Carnivine loosen her grip and Onix managed to shake the Bug Catcher Pokemon off. And then his giant tail came crashing down from above and splattered the Grass type to the ground.

"Carnivine is unable to battle! This round goes to Roark and Onix!"

"Good job, girl, you made me proud," said Kale with sincere voice as he recalled his Pokemon. Clutching his starter's poke ball, Kale considered the situation for a moment before throwing it. "You're up, Blace! Let's do it for Carnivine and Staravia!"

The Chimchar's confidence was shattered upon materializing as the hovering rocks came crashing down onto him. Kale finally remembered what exactly Stealth Rock did. Unfortunately, it was too late.

"You're in luck that Carnivine was so close to fainting that it took only one attack to knock her out," came Roark's voice from the other side of the field. "While he's still confused! Quick, Onix, Slam!"

"Dodge it and go underground! Then Flamewheel the life outta him!"

The Rock Snake Pokemon lunged forward but just as his tail came crashing down in the cloud of dust left after the rocky ambush, the Chimchar shot out and after somersaulting backwards, dived into one of holes. The Rock type looked around anxiously and tried to get some clue of his opponent's location but he didn't have time to react when a rotating fireball jolted out from one of the holes and crashed into his head. The Chimp Pokemon didn't waste any time and swiftly went back underground, only to jump out again from the opposite side and strike Onix once again. That's how the battle went for some time- Blace doing using his usual hit-and-run Flamewheel tactic, Onix trying to catch the little pest that annoyed the hell out of him, and Roark musing on which move to use to turn the tide of the battle.

"Onix, go underground as well! Force him out with Screech!"

The Rock type stuck his head in one of the holes and no one heard anything at first- the ground apparently was stopping the sound waves. But then Kale felt the slight tremors below his feet and Blace suddenly jumped out while shrieking and holding his head in pain.

"Slam!"

The giant tail lifted up the Fire type and sent him crashing into one of the last rocks on the field, demolishing it in the process. Onix let out a triumphant roar and Kale's fist clenched in fear. The dust cloud finally dispersed- Blace was kneeling in the middle, panting and clutching one of his arms. The Chimchar didn't look at his trainer. But nonetheless, he could picture him in his head just by hearing the encouraging words the boy was shouting. 'Don't give up!' 'Only a little more!'

_'We can do it together!'_

The Fire type met the glare of the enormous opponent looming above him and grinned. His species were fighters. Blace could barely remember the time he had spent in the mountain reserve, but he remembered one thing. His species never gave up, no matter what foe they faced. And the Chimchar would rather leave his flame wither away forever than give up and let his trainer down. He and Kale were a team. If one of them had the strength to keep on fighting, then both of them had it.

Kale's heart skipped a beat when he saw the tail-flame of his starter enlarge to at least triple its size. The thought of his Chimchar getting hurt because of Blaze once again plagued his mind. The boy was just about to forget the battle and recall his friend to protect him when Roark's surprised voice reached his ears.

"Bu that's not Blaze! That's… determination?" the gym leader exchanged looks with his challenger and decided to explain upon seeing the boy's questioning look. "When a Fire type's heart is into the battle, when they are truly fighting because of their own will and are ready to fight for whatever their cause is- that's when the flames on their bodies grow. And that, Kale, certainly makes things way more interesting! Onix, Double-Edge!"

"Dodge and use Flamewheel!"

The Fire type would have done it even without being told to. Onix managed to hit only the hard ground as his opponent rolled out of the way and used one of the rocks as leverage before shooting forward. The Flamewheel was nearly as big as the Blaze-augmented one. The rotating comet rammed into the Rock type with enough power to whip his head backwards. Before even landing, Blace turned around and exhaled a barrage of bullet-like projectiles. The scorching-hot embers were doubled in size and struck the thick hide of the Onix like little bombs.

"Curl around him!"

"Dodge i…"

But Kale didn't even manage to finish his command as the enraged rock snake lunged towards the bespectacled boy's starter and coiled tightly around the Fire type. The Chimchar tried struggling and his tail-flame was so strong that flames started forcing their way out between the rock segments of the Onix. Unfortunately, the Rock type himself was seeing only red- the fatigue, the damage and the shame of being unable to squash the little Fire type had given him even more brute strength. The Onix threatened to crush Blace and both trainers realized that the next moves would be the last ones.

"Good one, Onix! End it with Double-Edge!"

"It's time to finish it, Blace! Ember full power!"

The Rock Snake Pokemon raised his head and as his horn glowed, he prepared to lunge downwards and finish his opponent off. The little fire-monkey took one single deep breath- and Kale's heart sunk when he noticed that the tail-flame of his partner had completely withered away. But seeing the Chimchar's chest nearly visibly expand and the red glow that seemingly resonated from within made him realize what was happening. One single Fire type move. No holds barred.

The Onix had just lunged downwards when Blace broke all hell loose. The embers exhaled by the Chimchar were like miniature comets and moved so erratically that most of them crashed into each other before exploding. Several streams of fire came out of the Fire type's mouth and forced Onix to try and protect his face. The streams made more and more embers explode and rotated around each other faster and faster. Blace was nearly out of breath when with one last push, he exhaled what fire power he had left and the streams intertwined into an infernal vortex of scorching flames that engulfed Onix's whole upper body.

"Fire Spin?" Kale muttered, barely believing what he was seeing.

The Onix let out an ear-splitting roar and slammed the Fire type in the ground with his tail before tossing him away. The Chimchar bounced off the ground several times before crashing into his trainer. Kale stumbled back and fell but didn't let go of his partner. Blace glanced at the still-standing, despite barely, Onix and gave an apologetic look to his trainer before passing out.

"Don't worry, boy. You're a winner to me," Kale said to his unconscious starter and was just about to recall him when he realized Norrington still hadn't said anything. The boy had just looked up when the Onix let out one more roar- one of pain and anguish- before glancing at Roark one last time and crashing down into Kale's feet.

Jed was the one that voiced what Kale was thinking.

"They…drew? What now? Does he get a badge or not?"

"In the case of a draw," Roark announced as he recalled his Pokemon and headed towards Kale "the decision of whether to award the challenger with a badge is up to the gym leader. And considering your performance today, I think you deserve this, Kale," Roark said with a wide smile on his face.

In his outstretched hand was the Mine Badge, the same as the one Nigel had showed him the day before. But this one was his own- and that made it look even greater. The unique form- a cross between a poke ball and a miner's helmet, the bright colors of silver and bronze, everything! This was his first badge and he- no, they, his team- would cherish it forever.

"Guys," Kale said with trembling voice to the poke balls on his belt and to the Pokemon in his hands "this is ours now. We've won it!"

* * *

The sun was finally shining brightly once again. The sun-beams cheerfully entered through the open windows of the Oreburgh Museum Laboratory as the Tylers were explaining how the process of resurrecting a fossil worked to the kids. Norrington was there as well because he had to question the trio about the accident in the mine. Roark had suggested tagging along too because he wanted to learn more about the condition of the next once-more-living Cranidos. The two grown men were currently going through the database of recently-discovered fossils and their state of well-being. Or at least the redheaded gym leader was. Norrington was just clutching his alabaster cane with a Charizard ornament and staring blankly at the screen.

"What do you think of Kale's performance today?" the police officer suddenly asked.

"It was great, I already told everyone that," Roark answered without even looking back and kept scrolling down the screen with interest.

"I'm asking about his style and strategy in particular," Julian insisted on the matter. The gym leader just shrugged and mumbled "Undeveloped but clever. Has a lot of potential in my opinion."

"You know what I'm talking about, Roark," the sandy-blond man blurted as his peer just continued typing on the keyboard. "His style was crude, nothing more than a bastardized version of the true one, but someone has told _and_ taught him what to do."

"His father is a gym leader as well, figures the kid would be taught something. And what's that exactly if I may ask?" questioned the redhead.

"Most trainers don't pick this up even when they are well into their journey- to adapt your style to the Pokemon's, not the other way around. Every trainer that is actually worth something knows that he has to use the strong points of his Pokemon. But Kale was trying to command them as if they were deciding what to do- his Carnivine's way of trapping victims, his Staravia's maneuverability and head-on assaults…"

"Use not what you think is the best, but what your Pokemon can do the best. Even if it's not its strongest move or the best one to use in the situation," summarized Roark "And what if someone has told him this?"

"I think that…"

"You think that his grandfather has tutored him before going on that 'one last trip to adventure' as the newspapers dubbed it," Roark chuckled quietly.

"That's the most reasonable explanation," insisted Julian "after the fiasco with his only son and his daughter choosing contests over gyms, he was desperate to find a successor. And since Cynthia rejected him and preferred going her own way, that thought must have crossed the old man's mind!"

"You're overreacting because he rejected your offer. If you Norrington's weren't so confident in yourselves, you wouldn't have broadcasted that conference live. You brought the bad publicity upon yourselves," Roark mentioned absent-mindedly and started reading about new discoveries in the Underground with interest.

"It was the natural thing to do," insisted Julian with vigor in his voice "He had won the title once again and we offered him more than the prize money for the right to breed one of our females with his starter. But no! He dared reject us, the best dragon breeders in the rold, who only the Blackthorn clan can even dream of rivaling, and breed him with a Wild One. And then he gave away the egg to a complete nobody!"

"I don't know about you but I don't think Cynthia, of all people, is a complete nobody," Roark said coldly and finally stopped typing so he could face the other man. "And last time I checked, Lance was the Champion of Johto. I don't see any Norrington having a respectable position in the Sinnoh League. Besides, Kale's too young. Even if he had tried teaching the kid something, Kale would've been at an age he was barely able to read, much less understand such concepts. Besides, if not for the bond with his starter, he would've lost today. Heck, he barely drew with Onix."

Julian looked ready to argue but then everyone's attention was grabbed by the door being opened rather loudly. A very dirty and tattered Nigel was standing in the doorframe, and after inspecting the room with his usual arrogant look, he finally entered. The boy walked right to his parents and tossed his red backpack on the table, nearly pushing Kale's Skull Fossil out of it. His parents looked ready to berate him rather harshly but the redhead swiftly unzipped his bag and shoved something into his father's hands.

"Mom, Dad, I've found a fossil for you."

In the matter of seconds the two redheaded professors had forgotten about everyone and everything else in the room and had surrounded their son. Both of them praised their boy over and over and asked one question after another about its location, how had he dug it up…

Nigel just kept on smirking and between two of his answers, shot an arrogant look at Kale and bridled up. Jed whistled and stated with a blank voice:

"Such a lovely character! What's he? Half Werepsyduck?" and then something seemed to cross the teen's mind as he suddenly pointed at his blonde friend "Wait a minute, Viv! With such an intense battle, we all forgot about your cheering! You're so doing it when we reach Eterna City!"

"Like hell I will, you asylum inmate! I'm done with it and I'm warning you," the girl's blue eyes glinted ominously and she cracked her knuckles "if I even see you opening that website again…"

"Too late, Viv," Jed said while inspecting his nails "I already printed them and left them at the post office. I told them to send them to Rebecca if I don't call them every 24 hours. Plus, I have pictures of you in a cheerleading costume now. I cans end them, too. Checkmate, game, set and match- that kind of stuff, y'know."

"You…you…YOU MORON!"

"NOT THE FACE!"

"Hey, Nigel," Kale tried getting his rival's attention "Look what I've got here! My own Coal Badge! Looks like you're not getting the lead after all."

"Good for you. You want a cookie now?" Nigel snorted. "Like I care whether you win badges or not."

"Like I care if you care," Kale shot back and cheerfully tossed up the glistening badge… only for Carnivine to burst out of her poke ball and snatch it mid-air.

"MY BADGE! MY FIRST BADGE! CARNIVINE, SPIT IT OUT THIS INSTANT!"


	13. Hunting For Trouble

_**Chapter 13:**_

_**Hunting for Trouble**_

Route 204. Considered by many to be one of the dullest, yet most relaxing Routes, in all of Sinnoh. The relatively straight road connecting Jubilife and Floaroma was the favorite picnic spot of the people living in the settlements it connected. If you were lucky, the sun would be shining brightly... as it did most of the time. Its gentle beams would be reflected by the still water of the ponds, crowded with fishermen as always. The warm grass and fields of flowers full of life would welcome you and your friends and family. And while munching on delicious snacks, you could lazily watch the Bidoof and other rodents run past, admire the Budew and other Grass types hidden among the flower-beds around, or just stare at the Flying types flying overhead.

Not many adventurers walked this road. Most trainers preferred heading west to Oreburgh and then cycling up straight to Eterna City. Of course, there was always some explorer out to examine the Ravaged Path, as the locals referred to the underground path towards Floaroma. A path that held little to no interest for them. The picnickers of Route 204 liked staying overground- where the sun's near-constant warmth tickled their faces and the clean delicious air filled their lungs.

That sunny, liked it could have been anything else on Route 204, day, a group of adolescents were part of the idyllic picture as well. The blonde preteen, despite annoyed as always with some of the antics of her friends, had a cheerful smile on her face. After leaving Oreburgh Museum, their police "friend" had mentioned there was a Pokémon Contest coming up in Floaroma Town. Viviane had been nearly ecstatic. Despite not letting it show, or at least she had tried to, the girl was just dying to face her rivals once again and prove she was stronger. Of course, meeting even one of them at the upcoming Contest wasn't very likely, but still, a girl could dream, right? At least that's what she thought as she devised new appeal combinations and tried to ignore Jed, a most difficult task indeed, at the same time.

The teen himself was as cheerful as always. The sun was shining, the Flying types were singing and there were no Werepsyduck in the apparent vicinity. That, and the home-made potato lollipops hidden deep in the maze of his pockets, made the day just perfect for the auburn-haired boy. One would think that he would get fried under the warm sun with the red-and-orange jacket he was wearing. Wearing his lemon colored beanie seemed uncomfortable as well but Jed showed no signs of discomfort. On the contrary, he kept on humming and humming that tone that annoyed Viviane so much, and kept getting sidetracked again and again. What was so interesting about a Budew crossing the road, Vivi couldn't understand, but in her "humble" opinion, Jed's brain had been deep-fried long ago after all.

Between the two others was walking a spiky-haired preteen with a distinct swagger in his step. The black-haired boy kept checking out the single badge in his case occasionally and thought about his next gym challenge the rest of the time. When Viviane learned of the contest and, with her usual "persuasion" tactics, made them detour through Floaroma Town, he was quite angry. But the weather was too good for one to be unhappy, so Kale had decided to just enjoy the walk. And on top of that, they hadn't lost so much time. Norrington had offered to drive them back to Jubilife City and the bespectacled trainer was surprised that the stern man would go out of his way to drive them around. Things had become clear when Julian had pried out every single detail of what had happened at the TV station and at Oreburgh Mine. Kale had tried guessing whether his suicidal driving was part of his interrogation techniques but trying to keep his lunch had been first priority back then.

Soon enough, Kale got himself in a battle with an overexcited boy out to catch bugs. With the usual vigor of males out to prove who was the biggest, baddest and meanest out there, the two preteens took their positions in the grassy field and tossed their poke balls. The bespectacled boy had decided that Carnivine would like battling among her non-sentient cousins. The bug catcher whooped at seeing he was the one with the type advantage and ordered an attack as soon as his partner materialized. A Wurmple.

Viviane wasn't amused by the fight. Kale was at a disadvantage when it came to types but that other boy was just a hobbyist. Calling out attacks on the top of their lungs, as if it would make them stronger- check. Lots of grunting and waving their hands-check. Mocking the opponent and bragging-check. "Do you call that an attack"-like questions- check. Yes, Viviane was watching nothing more than a cockfighting match. Between two similar bird-brains, snickered the girl mentally.

After a sizeable amount of poison needles shot out wildly, bullet-like seeds propelled with gunshot speed and lots of sticky liquid being scattered around, Carnivine got close enough to strike the finishing blow. Kale, red-faced of course, ordered a Bite attack and the Bug Catcher Pokémon swiftly snapped her jaws around the wiggling body of the Bug type. The bug catcher vowed to beat Kale one day and ran away. Kale bragged about his win, Viviane pulled Jed's ear and the gang were on their merry way once again. Nothing out of the ordinary, for all the annoyance it was, thought the blonde. But the young trainer's latest win meant only one thing. A trait Viviane had thought wasn't part of his character at first, but after he had won the Coal Badge, the truth had finally surfaced. Kale was prone to bragging. A lot.

"Did you see how Carnivine plowed through that Poison Sting?" nearly shouted the boy and articulated profusely "Type advantage or not, between me and my Pokémon, he didn't stand a ghost of chance! Oh man, just wait 'till we reach Eterna! S'far as I know, the gym leader there specializes in Grass types. Whoever he is, he won't stand a chance against my team!" Blace popped out of his poke ball and shrieked in agreement. However, the little fire-monkey was forced to jump off his trainer's shoulder when Kale nearly fell after being slapped in the back of his head.

"Hello! Earth to Kale?" Vivi asked with a mocking tone and put her hands on her hips "Several wins don't make you invincible, oh great champ-in-the-making! You got lucky back in Oreburgh and the guy you just beat is just some little kid with a Wurmple."

"A win is a win, Viv," groaned the bespectacled boy in defense while rubbing the back of his sore head. "The only thing I need is just another strong Pokémon or two to train. And then- Sinnoh League beware!" Kale shouted and pumped his fist in the air. His starter climbed back up on his shoulder and voiced his agreement in the Pokémon language."

"Y'know, I can't wait to see how some random trainer shoves you back into reality," the blonde admitted with a smirk. "I'll be there clapping at the guy who gets to show you you're not so high and mighty, trainer boy! Or better yet, why not I prove it to you myself, huh?"

"Bring it on!" Kale exclaimed and Blace clenched his fists playfully, but in readiness nonetheless.

"Uhm, Kale?" came Jed's relaxed voice from somewhere on the right. "You mean rare like this one? Although I don't know what this sleepyhead can be used for."

"Jed, what are…" the boy froze mid-sentence and his eyes threatened to pop out and hang on their connecting nerves.

Both Kale and Viviane stood in the middle of the road like statues as their minds once again struggled to comprehend the mystery that was Jed. The teen was kneeling near the closest patch of grass and inspecting some random Pokémon. Nothing out of the usual, yes, but the identity of the "random Pokémon" was a shock enough to leave even Viviane speechless.

_ Abra, the Psi Pokémon. When Abra senses an imminent attack, it escapes by teleporting._

Everything matched- the dark-yellow color, the brown-colored "armor" covering its upper body, the fox-like appearance! That was an Abra alright. And for all the urban legends, some of them true, some-not, the Abra was just sleeping peacefully in the grass just meters away. And Jed was kneeling next to it and poking the unfortunate fellow's head with his finger.

Jed. Poking an Abra with his finger.

Yes, that picture would be forever stuck into Kale and Viviane's minds. The young trainer considered it a miracle that the Psychic type hadn't teleported away yet. The boy clutched an empty poke ball and pondered what to do. Despite still being there, the Abra could teleport the moment he ordered Blace to attack. And even if it didn't, the Psi Pokémon would hightail it out of there if the first attack didn't knock him out. The Chimchar was ready to leap into battle but Kale motioned to his starter to stay quiet. The bespectacled boy slowly picked an empty poke ball as inconspicuously as he could. Kale cringed when the red-and-white sphere enlarged with an audible click but despite all the noise made by Jed, the Abra was still napping peacefully.

Telling Jed to move away was far too risky. Kale didn't want to push his luck more than he would need it. Praying that his aim wouldn't fail him, the young trainer took a step back and prepared to shoot the sphere in his hand towards the unsuspecting Psychic type. The boy took a position one would expect from a seasoned baseball player and after praying for luck, swung with all the might he had. The move made him stumble forward but the poke ball jolted with blinding speed towards the sleeping Pokémon. The red-and-white sphere rotated wildly and the air sizzled as it slashed through it. Viviane's eyes went wide and Kale crossed fingers for luck… but just then another poke ball appeared from the opposite direction. The two equally fast spheres were seemingly about to hit the Abra at the same time. But without even the barest of signs, the Psi Pokémon just flickered out of existence. The two poke balls flew past the sides of Jed's face and the teen didn't even seem to realize it as he just kept poking the air where Abra had been a fraction of the second ago.

Kale was already cursing his luck when fate decided to punish him even more. The second poke ball continued its deadly flight and crashed straight into the boy's forehead. Everything went black for a second and the next thing he knew was Viviane slapping him again and again… and again.

"Wake up. Wake up. Wake UP!"

"Y'know, Viv, I think you're taking pleasure in inflicting pain to people a tad too much," came Jed's voice seemingly from all directions. Kale turned around groggily and positioned himself on all fours. The boy shook his head in a vain attempt to clear it and glanced at the direction from which the "missile" had come. There, in the tall patches of grass, another figure was trying to stand up shakily.

The other guy seemed around his age and despite his mind still feeling like mashed potatoes, Kale found the strength to get up and shout at the newcomer.

"What was that for?"

"You asking me? And what about your rapid fire, pal?" came the equally-irritated response from the other boy. He uncertainly got back on his feet and pointed with an accusing finger. "Plus, I've been chasing that Abra all day! Find another one to catch?"

"Lucas?"

"Kale?"

* * *

The bespectacled trainer couldn't believe his eyes at first. Meeting the first friend he had made when he had started his journey here was the last thing he expected. And yet, there he was. The same dark blue jeans and light blue vest with a V-shaped yellow stripe on it. And Lucas' trademark red barrette adored his distinctively bluish hair as well. The only different thing was the rapidly swelling red mark on his rivals' forehead. But by the way Lucas was looking at him and the boy's barely restrained laughter, Kale had a feeling that he had gotten that upgrade in appearance as well.

"So after reaching Jubilife City I decided that some training would do tons of good and came here," explained the blue-haired boy as he took another bite from the sandwich. "I was planning on going to Oreburgh to finally challenge the gym but just yesterday night I caught sight of that Abra. The mere chance of capturing one is [I]that[/I] slim," Lucas stared through the barest of gaps between his index and middle fingers for a second before continuing. "So what have you been up to, Kale? I see you've made some friends but have you challenged the Oreburgh Gym yet?"

"_You just had to ask, didn't you?_" Viviane complained mentally and prepared for the inevitable.

"You bet! Blace learned a new kickass fire attack mid-battle and we just showed 'em types mean nothing to us!" both trainer and starter grinned and struck cheesy poses at the same time. "Plus, all the trainers I've battled so far are, like, bleh! No one even comes close to beating me. I need some real challenge!"

"Don't get overconfident, Kale," laughed the boy's rival and took a sip from the thermos "All trainer 'round here are just hobbyists or picnickers. Although there are the occasional group of coordinators passing through the last few days. Maybe there's a Contest coming up in Floaroma or something…"

"Yeah, and I'm going to win it!" Viviane suddenly exclaimed.

"Okaaaaay. Good for you," Lucas dragged out and gave the blonde a strange look before turning back to Kale. "What I was saying is that you can't think you're top of the world just because of some win streak. I've won every battle these past few days but do you see me bragging about it? The kids from the Trainers' School back in Jubilife can handle the guys here no problem!"

_"Great, I finally meet a guy without some severe mental disorder, who actually thinks realistically, and I had to make it seem as if I'm the whacko, not Jed,_" Viviane mused once again inside her head and scratched her chin in thought. "_Why couldn't I have met him back then? Traveling with a normal person is way better for my mental health then traveling with a cocky trainer and a complete nutjob. I wonder if he'll agree to sidetrack through Floaroma with us?"_

"Hey, Viv," Jed shouted loud enough for several picnickers close by to turn around and snort "Viv, you on this planet? Did the Mermeowth get you or something?"

Lucas, unfamiliar with Jed's usual… 'behavior', asked with a curious look:

"Mermeowth? What's that?"

"Oh, y'know," Jed pretended to wave off the question but in reality was overjoyed that someone wanted to hear his theories willingly "They're this little thingies that are really small but pretend to be Meowth and go inside your brain and take control of it!"

"Okaaay," Lucas let out a forced laugh nervously once again.

"Oh, don't mind our friend here," Viviane immediately chirped. "He hasn't taken his medication yet," she grunted in her usual arrogant tone and seized Jed in a choke-hold.

"But I'm not taking any!" was the only thing the teen could wheeze while fighting for air.

"So Lucas," Kale tried to steer the conversation in a more painless for Jed direction "If you've won so many battles, are you up to facing me?"

"Oh, no, oh great Duke of Cockiness, I cannot even dream of challenging you," Lucas pulled a half-hearted effort of bowing and smirked. "Because I have an Abra to catch! You wanna help out or are you going to keep drowning us in your ego?"

"You know, you were always terrible at nicknames," Kale retorted with a blank stare before jolting up. "And yeah, we're gonna join your hunt! Because I'm catching that Abra for my team!"

"Uhm, run that by me again?" Viviane blurted "Do you think I'm gonna spend my precious time to prepare for the upcoming contest running around and chasing wild Bidoof? If we're gonna look for that Abra, then I'm catching it! A Psychic type can do miracles in contests!"

"Excuse me, people," Lucas raised his voice for the first time during the conversation "But I'm the one that went after him first. As I said before, find you own!"

"THEN I SHALL CATCH IT BEFORE ALL OF YOU DO! FOR I HAVE THE POWER OF DA BRICK ON MY SIDE!"

This time, all the picnickers in a hundred meter radius turned around and stared at the adolescent foursome, three of which were currently crimson in embarrassment. Jed was still standing with a fist pumped in the air and the only thing that could be hurled was the rustling of the wind through the fresh grass and the chirping of the Flying types soaring above them. Lucas, as mentioned before, new to Jed's antics, was the first one to speak.

"Say wha?"

"DA BRICK!" 'explained' the auburn-haired teen and pulled out a big red brick hangging on a thin chain out of nowhere. "That's my lucky charm. DA BRICK!" Jed flashed a peace sign and put the seemingly too heavy object around his neck. "It brings me luck. And I call him Miguel Ilievich Carlson Kloudcockoo Esteban Yosemite! The Third. Or in short, M.I.C.K.E.Y. DA BRICK!"

"Must you always shout the name of that thing?" grumbled the blonde through clenched teeth.

"Thing?" Jed echoed with an offended voice "You'll hurt his feelings!" accused the teen and then proceeded to cradle the brick hanging from his neck like a baby.

Kale just shook his head at Lucas' questioning look and let Viviane handle Jed as she always did. Painfully. The blonde's fists must have had some magical properties because after the hit, a light bulb seemingly went off inside the auburn-haired boy's head.

"Hey, what about a contest? We split up and search for the Abra. Whoever catches it first, keeps it! Simple, yet elegant. Quick, yet sufficient. Crude, yet.."

"Okay, okay!" Lucas waved his arms in front of him and tried to voice his opinion. "We'll do that. Just. Shut. Up. Please?" the blue-haired boy waited to see whether his words would have any effect. Viviane politely suggested he at least acted like a man and used his fists to do the talking but, gladly, there wasn't any need to. Jed had shouted, in a completely unusually arrogant tone, 'Smell 'ya latter', flicked his hair and ran off to somewhere.

* * *

"We could've been halfway there by now!"

The agitated complaints of the girl were left unheard. Mostly at least. The only one that could hear her now was the yellow rodent on her team. Viviane wanted to get all this over with, and while she knew a Psychic type would be a great addition to her team, the girl still preferred sticking to her favorites- the Electric types. And for this sole reason, the blonde had stormed off into the thickest bushes, away from the boys and any other witnesses. Let them think she was competition. They needed to run around and do some exercise in the coordinator's opinion.

But the silence around her, no- the lack of someone around her, had felt bizarrely uncomfortable. On the second day she had arrived in Sinnoh, the coordinator had acquired, albeit unwillingly and to her great displeasure, a traveling partner. Viviane had considered ditching Kale after the first Pokémon Center but then Jed had came barging into her life like some tsunami composed of every insane thought that had ever existed in the universe. Nonetheless, she had drawn the line right then and there but to some weird coincidence, or the Universe just really hated her, the blonde had ended up meeting them in Jubilife City. Then the TV Station accident happened, the Pokémon Center didn't have any free rooms, her first contest had come and then gone by in a flash…

And as much as Viviane didn't want to admit it, those two otherwise annoying boys that had turned her life upside down had really helped her overcome her initial fear. And now, just now, she realized that they were altering their course because of her. That whole detour was so she could participate in the Floaroma Town contest!

"Pikachu, remind me again how did we end up here?"

The somewhat philosophical question didn't seem to interest the electrical mouse. He just stretched his stubby feet and cuddled closer to his trainer neck. The yellow rodent may have looked like napping but many unfortunate Pokémon knew otherwise. Before Viviane catching him, Pikachu had been happy to boast around for being the King of the Forrest. Well, the King after all the dino-like Pokémon, the obnoxious Ground types he just couldn't zap into oblivion and some other guys he didn't like mentioning. But all those things were just too trivial for Pikachu to recognize. All that mattered to him was that he liked zapping things. And he was darn good at it! He had despised his human capturer at first, taking pleasure in making funny things happen to her hair with the help of a zap or two. But time had passed, she had gotten him into some great fights and while being human, a kind he wasn't very fond of, the blonde had shown herself capable of inflicting pain and taking pleasure in it as well.

The zapping had gradually stopped- especially after she had thought him a way to use his tail to smash around those annoying rocks and soil-covered King-of-the-Forest-wannabes. Pikachu purred lightly at the memories of his victories, a kind of flashback he was prone to having at least several times a day. Thrice a day if he felt depressed or bored. A king needed to remember his moments of glory in the rodent's opinion. And since Viviane always forgot doing it and Jolteon was always so high and mighty, Pikachu felt obliged to keep himself from forgetting exactly how cool he was and all that egotistical stuff.

However, for all his "might and glory", the Electric type just wasn't able to answer his trainer's question. Not because of the language barrier- he had been just too busy thinking about himself the past few minutes to listen to Viviane. While trying to get out of the situation and babbling incoherent things, Pikachu jumped off his trainer's shoulder and pretended to be helping in their search. Not that he thought they would actually find that Abra or whatever they were looking for. Only the usual smells hung in the air- blossoming flowers, Grass types hidden among them, smelly Bidoof, the heavy stench of sweating picnickers, a lot of food and… a smell he had not felt before.

It seemed too alien to be native to the surrounding area and it certainly wasn't one of the aromas filling the air in his native tropical forest. His trained nose was sensing it more and more- it seemed to be coming from nearby but after sniffing around, the way the smell seemed to be coming from was blocked by a cliff. Not the tallest one he had seen, but the hill it was part of was quite steep, even if short. But how could have the smell been coming from the other side? He knew how most Ground and Rock types smelled. Unless… it was a cave!

Pikachu sniffed around some more and after glancing in both directions and seeing the hill ended up next to a pond not too far away, jolted in the opposite direction. His trainer's anxious shouts to wait up barely reached his sensible ears. True, he hadn't put his heart in the job at first. But after sensing it, tasting it, Pikachu just wanted to try out his strength against one of the oh-so-praised Psychic types. The Electric type shivered upon remembering his loss at their first contest. And Pikachu needed to reassure himself, as much as his trainer, in his strength once again.

"Pi-pika-pichuuu!"

"Slow down, Pikachu," Viviane wheezed and dropped to her knees "Must you always run off like that?"

"Pikaaa! Pichu-ka!"

"Huh?" the blonde raised an eyebrow as her Pokémon kept pointing at the glaring hole in the hill's surface "The Abra's inside?" suddenly exclaimed the girl, ignoring the unneeded loss of air "Then we should try catching it after all. If things don't work out well with it in the team, we can always trade it for some kickass Electric type!"

Fortunately, there were enough cracks in the hill's surface for the cave to be light enough to see where one walked. The coordinator quickly figured that must have been the so-called Ravaged Path. It seemed like an ordinary cave stretching below the route. Only the occasional underground lakes, too small to be even called that, were something one didn't see in every cave.

"Don't get too far inside. However small this cave is, we might still get lost," warned Viviane with a hushed voice. Pikachu nodded and looked around vigorously.

"Pi-Pikachu!"

And there it was! Not even 50 meters after the entrance, the Psi Pokémon was leaning on one of the cold rocky walls and snoozing blissfully.

"Okay now, Pikachu," instructed the blonde while preparing a poke ball "You go in for a Quick Attack as fast as you can! If we don't get him with the first move, we might lose his trail forever."

The yellow rodent nodded and after taking several steps back just to be sure, jolted forward with blinding speed. The sheer velocity of the attack left a bright white trail behind Pikachu and he was sure of his success. What was so great about that snoring bum, he just couldn't fathom. Ten meters left. The Electric type was sure he was way faster than the Abra. Four meters left- it was impossible to dodge!

One meter.

With a loud thud Pikachu ended up face- first into the harsh stone wall. The Psi Pokémon had vanished just under his nose and neither Pokémon, nor trainer, had realized it until the yellow mouse had been splashed like a pancake by his own attack.

"It's right there, Pikachu! Don't give up!"

The Electric type shook his head dizzily and his mind barely registered any words but thankfully, Viviane was pointing in the Psychic menace's general direction. The arrogance! Pikachu's mind became clear once again upon seeing the, still sleeping as tight as a log, Abra lazily hovering above the cerulean waters of the nearby lake.

Pikachu didn't bother with direct confrontation. Sure enough that the thing couldn't dodge an area attack, the Electric type let out a mighty Thunderbolt. The several hundreds jolts of electricity illuminated the whole cave and scared away flocks of cave-dwelling bat-Pokémon in the process. The stream of bright yellow bolts rained upon the Psi Pokémon but just as the attack connected with the still surface of the lake, the water sizzled and, as conductive as always, produced a small explosion and covered everything from view.

The electric rodent was panting but there was a smile on his face. Many triumphant thoughts were racing across his mind as the smoke cleared. Thoughts like 'Try dodging that, you…"

Viviane stomped her foot in the ground in annoyance when she saw the Abra standing at the end of a sharp rock looming just above the lake's surface. Pikachu rubbed his beady eyes. That thing was just a meter away from the lake- heck, he was above it! Surely his aim wasn't getting bad…was it?

Tired with all the games, Pikachu nodded after seeing Viviane's look and ran towards his opponent. The rodent's tail glowed and he didn't even bother being quiet as he swung towards Abra. The Electric type was sure of it this time- his tail was just millimeters away from…nothing. The Psi Pokémon had disappeared- before appearing behind him. Pikachu turned around with an angry expression but seeing the Psychic type coated with some kind of white, almost transparent lightning, took him aback. But instead of zapping him, the bolt just shot straight up and disappeared into thin air.

Pikachu was about to mock the Abra's aim when he heard Viviane's shout. And felt the pain. The young coordinator had tried taking the Abra from behind while it was busy with her partner. Unfortunately, Abra had vanished once again and the poke ball swung so furiously at the Psi Pokémon had ended up crashing into Pikachu's face with the force of a freight train.

"Oh, Pikachu, I'm so sorry," Viviane shrieked and ran to her injured partner who was muttering something about mutinies, prune juice and the mating preferences of the Abra's mother in his own language.

Just then the white lightning appeared back again out of nowhere and struck the base of the rock they were on. The splash was too loud for one to hear the angry shouts of both soaked trainer and Pokémon.

* * *

Elsewhere, the warm sun was shining upon the duo of trainer and Pokémon, currently knee-deep in the tall grass. The bespectacled boy checked behind every bush, around every lonely tree, behind even the smallest of rocks. But the elusive Abra was nowhere to be found. When one looked closely, he could guess by the boy's expression that his mind was somewhere far away. Kale's starter looked as energetic as ever, double-checking every false alert and every possible location. Blace sniffed the air, checked the ground and even climbed one of the lonely trees. Kale on the other hand, while certainly trying to find the Psi Pokémon, was thinking mainly about his surprise encounter with Lucas. With my first rival, added the boy in his mind as a slight grin appeared on his face.

Kale had grown up in the family of trainers. Each one of them better than the other. All his life they had tried to influence him, the next Winstar to set out on a Pokémon journey. And while Kale had been like a little sponge for Pokémon training info when he was a child, as he grew more he wanted to find his own style. A style he would one day try to cram into the thick skulls of the next generation. Only one of his family had managed to truly influence him, and it wasn't a surprise to Kale considering who the man was. However, in his old age the boy's grandfather liked being cryptic like all old people were. The boy still hadn't figured out half the things the old man was talking about. Having been a six-year-old when he had heard them for the first time didn't help much either.

But one thing was present in all versions of the speech crammed time after time in his head. How important rivals were. You may not like them, they might mock you. You might despise them, they might be annoying. But the bond stays no matter what. Your rival is the barrier you must overcome. And beating you is the milestone they have to achieve. A symbiotic relationship (he had to stop them there and ask what that meant) at its best. You strive to be stronger in order to beat them. They train more so they could even the score after that. And then the cycle continues, forcing all sides to train more, to grow more… to achieve more. That's what they had all told him in several different versions.

But whether it came to his father's speech of friendly rivalries, to his mother's lecture about proving you are better, or his grandfather's wisetalk about growth, Kale still felt guilty. He and Lucas had not parted on friendly terms. He had shouted at Lucas, punched him and, worst of all in Kale's opinion, insulted his capability of being his rival. Rivals mock each other often, the bespectacled boy knew some would say that. But this was different in the young trainer's opinion. He had told Lucas he wasn't worthy anymore. In Kale's book that was like flat-out shouting Lucas had failed, dropped out. And while many more would laugh at him for worrying about that and not about the punch, Kale knew only someone that had grown up in a trainer's family would understand.

"Chiim! Chim-chim-chimchaaar!"

"Yeah, I know. I'll apologize next time I see him," muttered Kale while delving into yet another thick patch of grass. His starter scratched his chin at the cryptic answer, completely irrelevant to what Blace was talking about.

"Charchim!"

"Blace, if you were an Abra where would you hide?" pondered the black-haired boy and put his hands behind his head. Kale looked up and glanced at the clear blue sky before continuing "Maybe we should think like it in order to catch it. Now if I were an Abra, where'd I… OUCH!"

With an anxious shriek, his starter had jumped onto his head, and after violently grabbing him by his ears, had turned him into a different direction. The little fire-monkey then pointed at something lying at the edge of a near patch of grass and started hopping onto his trainer's head. Kale eyes grew wide when he recognized the sleeping Pokémon.

"Nice job, Blace, you found him," Kale praised his starter and scratched him behind the ears before adding "You should've told me earlier, though. It might've teleported again." The Chimchar facepalmed.

"Listen up," the young trainer whispered after he swiftly hid behind the nearest lonely tree "You use Dig and attack it from below. I'll throw another poke ball and shout loudly. When you hear me, jump out and grab or hit it or whatever. But keep it where it is. Abra will be too focused on me to notice you and will be taken by surprise. Then the poke ball will hit him and with some luck, bang! He's part of our team!"

The Chimchar nodded affirmatively and immediately jumped off Kale's shoulder. The young trainer looked for several seconds at the just-made hole into which his starter had disappeared before unclipping another empty poke ball. Kale approached the Psi Pokémon confidently and shouted as loud as he could after throwing the poke ball.

"POKE BALL, GO! ABRA, YOU'RE MINE!'

It's going to work, the boy thought as he watched the red-and-white sphere approach its target with lightning speed. Moments before it was about to hit, Blace shot up from the ground behind Abra and took hold of the yellow Psychic type's tail. But then the Fire type's hands were suddenly holding nothing but air and the poke ball just flew through the empty space above his head.

"Aw, man! It got away again," Kale grumbled and plopped on the ground with legs crossed "We need to devise a more elaborate plan, Blace. Any suggestions?"

The little fire-monkey ran to him and climbed back onto his head. "Chaaar, chim-im!" it exclaimed while hanging upside down in front of his face. But then Blace clumsily fell off after someone suddenly hoisted up Kale by the front of his black T-shirt.

"This yours, mate?" asked the biker-looking man with an Ursaring built that was holding the boy up. He had a red-and-white sphere in his free hand. Kale's poke ball. "That thing came out of nowhere and hit my girlfriend over there," grunted the cue ball and hoisted the boy higher so the trainer could see behind the man. A young woman wearing big round glasses was staying not too far behind. Kale threw a curious look at her for a second. She was dressed inconspicuously and seemed to be trying to sink into the ground. She even shied away and took several steps back after noticing someone was looking at her, despite that someone being at least 10 years younger than her. Kale's musings on how a scholar-looking girl like her had ended up with the crude bear that was currently threatening to inflict a lot of pain to him were cut short.

"We we're havin' a nice picnic over there, an' then this thing comes outta nowhere and knocks 'er out," the biker pointed at the bulging lump partially hidden behind the fringe reaching down to the woman's eyes. After seeing someone pointing at her, she blushed and scurried a few more meters back. "I don't like lil' punks like 'ya treating my girl bad," the man snarled through clenched teeth and held Kale on eye-level.

"Uhm, about that… 'ya see…I didn't want to hurt anyone," Kale gulped as his nose nearly bumped into the biker's "Please don't hurt me!" finally managed to whimper the young trainer.

"Chaaarchim!"

Blace battle shriek was followed by the biker's howl as the glowing claws of the Fire type connected with the man's bottom in a timely-executed Scratch attack. Immensely thankful to his partner, Kale grabbed Blace hand and ran into the opposite direction, shouting "Run for your life!" The biker was left holding his behind in pain and jumping from leg to leg while his girlfriend tried getting closer to comfort him. One slow, shy step at a time.

After a lot of running without looking back, Kale finally screeched to a halt and leaned on a lone rock jutting out near one of the route's curves. The young trainer panted and wheezed and his Pokémon lay on the ground in front of him, trying to regain his senses after spending the whole sprint hanging from Kale's arm in mid-air. Blace knew what his trainer was thinking. It had been truly a close call. But Blace had shown just how capable he was. Or at least that was what the fire-monkey thought. Still, his skills wouldn't have been needed if not for that Ab…

Kale let out a surprised shout as his Chimchar breathed out a vortex of red-hot flames. Still, the swirling column of fire missed him, and not just because he ducked. Blace started jumping around and pointing at the tip of the rock. There, to Kale's surprise, was napping Abra. But this time the Psi Pokémon was surrounded by a glittering yellow force field. After several seconds Kale recognized the hexagonal shield as a Lightscreen. Apparently the Psychic type didn't feel like running away anymore. Or at least that was what Kale hoped.

"He can't keep the shield up forever!" the boy said to his starter triumphantly "That's our chance, Blace! Fire Spin, one more time!"

The Chimp Pokémon nodded and after taking a deep breath, let out the flaming vortex once again. Kale hoped to overpower his target this time but just as the fire was about engulf the yellow force field… it disappeared along with the Abra that had conjured it. The vortex of flames continued onwards and ended up striking a purple moth-like Pokémon that was hovering nearby.

"Not again!" Kale shouted as he slapped his forehead and ran to the injured Bug type to check whether it was okay. Blace followed him with a guilty expression on his face. The moth with multi-colored wings had landed in the bushes and was twitching slightly every time it tried moving its scorched wings. The boy thought it would be wise to carry it around in search for help in that condition so he started rummaging through his backpack to find some medicine. Blace kept apologizing to the half-conscious Bug type in his own language over and over.

"You don't like… bugs!"

After hearing the strange squeaky, but positively creepy, voice, Kale looked around but saw no one near. The trainer was ready to just shrug and dismiss it as a figment of his imagination when he heard the voice again. From in front of him.

"You don't like bugs, you bug…me!"

Both trainer and Pokémon slowly turned around with stoned faces. Just above the moth-like Pokémon, from behind the thick bushes, a pair of creepily shining glasses framed by strands of greasy black hair was looking at them. The injured Bug type was slowly pulled from behind the bushes by a hand the petrified duo couldn't see as the voice kept talking.

"You mongrels injured my dear Romeo. Now you will have to pay. By facing the wrath of my dear… Juliet."

The hand appeared once again from behind the bushes and pointed accusingly at the boy. Kale had become cross-eyed due to the effort of following the movements of the appendage nearly touching his nose. And then, a pink caterpillar Pokémon crawled out from within the extended hand's sleeve and stopped at the tip of the finger, just in front of Kale's face. The Wurmple cooed and grinned at the boy, while waving at him with its front appendages. Kale and Blace looked at each other with dumbstruck faces. The duo nodded, slowly turned back and… disappeared with a blinding speed while shouting:

"RUUUN!"

"CHAAAR!"

Picnickers everywhere along the road turned around in surprise as something jolted past them with inhuman speed. Kale and Blace ran through the thick grass like there was no tomorrow, hoping to get as far as they could from all the creeps that were chasing them. The Universe however, had other ideas in mind.

With a loud thud, the young trainer found himself lying on the ground after crashing into the same bug catcher he had fought earlier. Kale was thankful at first that he had ended up crashing into a guy he knew was normal and was about to apologize before quickly resuming his mad dash once again. Only to find a white cocoon with a single red eye shoved in front of his face.

"Look! After our battle my Wurmple evolved into Silcoon! Now we can battle again and I'll defeat you!" chirped the other boy excitedly.

"Well, I'm sure…glad for 'ya, pal," Kale laughed nervously and scurried back a few meters. "But I don't feel like battling right now. Now if you don't mind I'll just…"

"You're just scared!" shouted the bug catcher. "You don't want me to regain my honor! But I will. Stop him, Silcoon!"

The cocoon-like Pokémon spitted out a gooey liquid net but Blace jumped in front of his trainer and breathed out a vortex of fire that melted it. The bespectacled boy grabbed his starter and ran in the opposite direction while shouting for help. Only to end up crashing into someone else.

"Need help, punk?" grunted the cue ball as he looked down on Kale and cracked his knuckles. The biker's girlfriend was hiding behind him once again. Kale and Blace tried crawling backwards into the bushes only for the creepy voice to stop them in their tracks.

"Ah, we meet again… my eternal enemy."

Kale jumped back on his feet but his last escape route was closed by the bug catcher who had finally caught up to him and started chanting: "Battle! Battle! Battle!"

The boy and his starter found themselves surrounded and with nowhere to run. The Chimchar, while majorly creeped out, prepared to battle and defend his trainer. Only to find out that all their 'foes' were starring at something next to Kale's feet with dumbstruck expressions. Abra sleepily took hold of Kale's hand and the trainer and his Fire type felt like their senses had shut down for a second as they flickered out of existence. Only to appear mid-air above an underground lake.

Viviane and Pikachu found even better reasons to curse their existence as Kale and Blace fell on them and sent all four of them stumbling back into the lake, just after the blonde and her partner had crawled out.

* * *

_"The enemies are everywhere… pant, pant… that means we're deep in enemy territory. I and my Pokémon are the last ones left of our squad- the Delta Cover-Ops Mega-Nuke Horsea. The strange happenings started all the way back at the chopper while we were coming to this Arceus-forsaken place. We found Spanner dead in the cargo hold. Doc said he had died from exhaustion… from dancing the Caramelldansen for 72 hours straight. We knew Spanner had some problems with it… pant, pant, it all dated back from his days of depression after they had denied him the chance of playing Hatake Kakashi in that movie. But we knew that he couldn't have done this to himself. There was something fishy…"_

"Yay! Of course there's something fishy! Yay!" Chatot shrieked and smacked his trainer with his wing. "We're hiding in the bushes near a pond. Figures fish live here! And why say "pant" over and over? Why not pant for real? Yay!"

"Because if it said I'm panting that would ruin the flow of the narration," Jed explained as if that was the most obvious thing ever. He was currently dressed weirder than ever as well. Red face-paint and a worn-out black headband adorned his face. Over his usual clothes he had put on a crimson Roman toga and over it- a baggy camouflage tank top. With a fierce smiley face smoking a cigar on it. His good luck brick was hanging from his neck as well.

"Anyways, uh-hum!... _When we finally arrived we divided into groups of two. Fruity and Billy Ray went missing. We figured they'd want some alone time but then I found their dead bodies near the river. They had… doodles drawn all over their faces! Little Timmy and Big-Boned Charley just disappeared one night. We never even found them… pant, pant… We figured out there was something in the jungle… some things, which targeted us one by one. I and Trigger-Happy Timothy found out who the leader of those monsters was… but my comrade was fed to the Sharpedo. I got back to the base injured and Cap'n and the others died protecting me, a lowly mook, for some unknown reason. And so, I am here to exact righteous revenge on the culprit… Abra!"_

"Yay! That's it!" That too crazy even for Jed! Yay!" the colorful Flying type snatched the tape recorder from his trainer's hands and threw it into Munchlax's eagerly open mouth.

"NOOOO!"

Even more fishermen turned around and grumbled something about scaring away the fish as the auburn-haired teen went nearly halfway into his Pokémon's mouth to get back the device.

"Eureka!" Jed shouted as he pulled out something out of the Normal type's mouth. A tattered shoe. "Hey, I thought I lost this one years ago!"

"Yay! Look! Yay!"

Jed looked at the direction in which Chatot was pointing out just out of curiosity. The teen's eyes widened as he saw the Psi Pokémon floating above the pond's surface, near the shore. The fishermen were just preparing to try and somehow catch the Psychic type with their fishing rods for themselves when a blur shot past them. Jed in all of his weird cross-dressing glory, and his two Pokémon, jumped off the shore and the witnesses' eyes widened as they observed the impossibility of the overly impossible jump. The teen's fingers were inches away from the Abra when suddenly a translucent blue light surrounded the trio and they were suddenly stuck hovering in mid-air.

"Yay! That must be Confusion! Yay!"

The yellow fox-like Pokémon chuckled and flickered out of existence, leaving the teen and his Pokémon to be somehow rescued by the fishermen. But Jed didn't give up. The auburn-haired boy took off the brick hanging from his neck and rapidly swung it in circles above his head.

"Abra, tremble before the power of DA BRICK!"

The makeshift projectile was slung and the brick flew in a completely random direction. The fishermen pondered whether the exposure to the Psi waves had done something to the boy's mind. But suddenly, Abra appeared on the other side of the pond, for some unknown reason just on the brick's way. The projectile ended up smashing the Psi Pokémon right in the middle of its forehead and the Abra fell into the still water.

The Confusion lost its power and Jed fell into the water as well. He recalled Chatot and after somehow climbing onto the, smaller than the boy, Munchlax's back, shouted:

"Munchlax, a full course meal at a seven-star restaurant if you get me to that Abra on time!"

The green Normal type's usual vacant, happy-go-lucky look, was substituted for a fierce expression. He took a deep breath and to everyone's surprise, sans Jed's of course, jolted forward with blinding speed, his hands a blur as he used them as propellers.

The Abra had just regained its senses and was about to flicker away when the crazy duo reached it and Jed leaned forward, taking hold of the Psi Pokémon's tail. All three of them suddenly disappeared and just a second later Jed and Munchlax found themselves floating above an underground lake. Another second later gravity kicked in and the crazy duo found themselves falling onto Viviane, Kale and their Pokémon, just after the first four had managed to crawl out of the lake. The splash was bigger than ever.

* * *

Not too far away, Lucas and his Piplup were marching up and down Route 204. The duo looked behind the bushes and delved into the tall grass, they had even asked some friendly picnickers if they had seen the Abra, but overall, Lucas was out of luck. His Water type had decided to be the hero once again and had wandered off. While always somewhat scared that his partner would one day get himself into a battle he couldn't win, the blue-haired boy was confident in his starter's abilities. As a proud member of his species, Piplup felt obliged to brag and try being the center of attention 24/7. But they had done some intense training since they had met and the little penguin could now fend off angered by his antics common Pokémon without much trouble.

The first time when Piplup had gotten into a fight with a Staraptor wasn't fun at all. After the Flying type had knocked out his starter without even looking in his direction, Lucas had been forced to outrun the whole flock until he had reached a Pokémon Center. Still, having Piplup around was fun, thought the young trainer. Lucas let out a tired sigh and sat on a rock just off the road.

Not for the first time, Lucas asked himself was it fate that he had picked up Piplup's poke ball back then. But still, did it really matter? He had gotten a starter he had quickly grown fond of, and vice versa. Piplup, while his pride threatened to be the dead of the boy one day, was very attached to his trainer. The blue-haired trainer couldn't wait to face Nigel once again and prove him how strong he and his team were. And for that matter, Lucas was quite happy to have the opportunity of soon battling Kale. While being self-proclaimed rivals, the two boys hadn't had time for a single battle so far.

Kale's words and punch had hurt. The punch- a lot even. But Lucas, while being angry at first, understood what Kale had wanted to say. The blue-haired boy had really acted just like some spoilt little kid by giving up after just one loss. Kale had helped him, in a matter far harsher than needed in Lucas' opinion, and he and Piplup had gotten stronger since then. Geniuses or not, with enough training victory was within everyone's grasp. That had become somewhat of a motto for Lucas. He had been really itching to rush into the first gym the very instant he went on his journey, but training was necessary. Both for beating the gyms and for defeating his rivals. No sense rushing in. The blue-haired boy had enough time until the Sinnoh League started.

"Pilupipluppiplup-PIIIIP!"

The penguin-like Pokémon suddenly ran out of the bushes and while waving at their general direction, rushed to his trainer. Unfortunately for Piplup, his stubby feet tripped over an ill-placed stone and he ended up face-first into the rock Lucas was sitting on.

"Whoa, relax there, buddy," Lucas said as he picked up the Water type and shook him slightly. "You okay? No permanent brain damage? Did you find something?"

"Lup-lup," the little penguin mumbled and pointed at the bushes.

"I think it's for the best if you don't move much right now," Lucas suggested. Keeping the Water type in his arms, he headed into the supposed direction of the Abra. The boy hoped the Psi Pokemon was still there. The search had been really dull so far and Lucas wondered if the boredom hadn't made his newly-made friends and Kale quit already.

But the young trainer was lucky. The Abra was really not too far away. In fact, it was napping as soundly as ever, smack into the middle of a nearby clearing. The blue-haired boy unclipped an empty poke ball and dashed forward. At the same time, a fierce shout came out of the other end of the clearing as someone jumped out of the underbrush.

"ABRA, I'M SO CATCHING YOU!"

"Kale?" Lucas had stopped into his tracks when he had seen his soaked rival. Not long after, a very angry drenched Viviane and a very happy soaked Jed had come out of the undergrowth as well. Kale looked quizzically at the other boy and stopped as well. A couple of seconds passed before the two of them realized the situation.

Both trainers aimed carefully and prepared to throw the poke balls with all their might. Unfortunately for Lucas, Piplup decided to help him out. And jumped from his hold just as the boy swung his other hand. The poke ball ended up slightly off-target and hit one of the trees before ricocheting right into Piplup's head and knocking him out.

Kale thought he was finally going to triumph for a second. But just as the poke ball was about to hit, Abra disappeared once again and the red-and-white sphere ended up hitting a passing-by Bidoof. The sheer force of the throw and the spin of the sphere made the Pokémon's face bent. But other than that, the beaver-like Pokémon didn't show any other reaction as the projectile finally bounced back and his face returned to its same vacant look like rubber. The poke ball engulfed him and announced the successful capture without much ado.

"I caught a..a.. Bidoof?" Kale's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Aw, man, is this Abra uncatchable or something?"

A dry chuckle reached everyone's ears and after looking up, the adolescents saw the Psi Pokémon comfortably perched on a tree branch. Sleeping as always of course. Jed decided to try his luck for the fun of it. But instead of a poke ball, he threw his lucky brick as the last time. Alas, the Abra didn't even deem it necessary to Teleport away- the brick ended up hitting the tree branch.

"As moronic as always, eh?" Viviane deadpanned with a blank look and smacked Jed up the head without even looking. But then a different sound then the smack resonated in the air. A sound quite similar to… snapping. The eyes of the whole group went wide as the branch Abra was on snapped in two. The Psi Pokémon was too surprised to react on time and ended up falling face-first into the thick undergrowth. Kale and Lucas couldn't believe their luck and immediately took action.

"POKE BALL, GO!"

All of them expected to hear the sound of metal clattering on the ground or hitting the tree bark. They didn't expect to see the bright light and hear the distinct ping that announced a successful capture. Both boys immediately ran to the bushes and found the two poke balls. And one of them contained Abra! It was then that they finally realized… they didn't know whose it was.

After nearly fifteen minutes of both boys pulling the poke ball that contained Abra and chanting "mine", Viviane had decided to interfere. The blonde had swiftly taken hold of Kale and Lucas' ears and after some rather unnecessary and painful twisting, had dragged them to a bigger clearing. But then she realized she had forgotten Jed, whom she found not long after being chased by some very angry Beedrill. And then the young coordinator had to stop Munchlax from eating Abra's poke ball. All very tedious tasks, so it was no wonder that after she had finally managed to gather everyone after a whole hour and put a stop to the boys' squabbling, Viviane was very angry. And an angry Viviane never meant good things.

"YOU! Stay put and don't say a thing, don't move, don't breathe even!" the black-and-yellow clad girl shouted as she pointed at Jed. The auburn-haired teen held his breath and gave a thumbs-up. "YOU!" the blonde continued and pointed at Kale and Lucas "You're gonna have your precious battle and whoever wins gets that darn Abra!" Lucas tried to point out that these rules were unfair if the rightful owner of the poke ball that captured the Psi Pokémon happened to lose. Viviane ignored him completely.

"AND YOU!" Don't you dare eat the prize again!" the coordinator shrieked and plunged her hand down the Munchlax's throat just as the Normal type had devoured the poke ball once again. After pulling it out and leaving Munchlax choking on the ground, the blonde wiped her hand in Jed's still wet clothes. Viviane didn't even bother to concern herself with the teen that was getting gradually bluer and bluer due to lack of oxygen and just dried drying her spiky pigtails by twisting them.

"Okay, boys, take your places, I'll be the judge," she finally announced and took her place between the two competitive trainers. "It'll be a quick one-on-one battle. AND NO TRASH-TALKING! WE'RE TIGHT ON TIME HERE!" she shouted just as both Kale and Lucas opened their mouths with cocky expressions.

Kale mumbled something that suspiciously sounded like "yes, ma'am" and gestured at Blace to take his place on the field. The Chimchar eagerly jumped off his trainer's shoulder and eyed the Piplup whom he had known before even meeting Kale. The bespectacled boy himself was assuming that it was going to be a battle between starters and was very surprised when Lucas tossed a poke ball and shouted "Tangela, I choose you!"

In a flash of bright light, a small round Pokémon covered by wiggling blue vines appeared on the field. Kale wasted no time and scanned it with his Pokedex.

_Tangela, the Vine Pokemon. It tangles any moving thing with its vines. Their subtle shaking is ticklish if you get ensnared._

"Uhm, Lucas, you sure you want to face Blace with a Grass type when there's an Abra on the line?" pondered the bespectacled boy. His blue-haired rival just shrugged.

"Says the guy who sent out a Chimchar thinking he'll face Piplup," Lucas laughed heartily before explaining "The last time, when I fought against Nigel, I was at a disadvantage again and, understandingly, lost. But there's always probably a 50% chance you'll be at a disadvantage in some battle. From what I hear, you've managed to overcome the odds at the Oreburgh Gym. It's only natural that I can't afford to stay behind."

"ENOUGH TALKING!" shouted Viviane and glared at the battlers. "Begin!"

"Okay then!" Kale said confidently "It's your choice. But that Abra is as good as mine! Blace, show 'em your new Fire Spin!"

"Tangela, stay strong, boy! Ingrain!"

The Chimchar took a deep breath and unleashed a vortex of fire that lunged straight at the ball of vines that was Tangela. But he didn't cower. On the contrary, the Vine Pokémon buried the roots that had appeared from beneath the cloak of vines deep into the soil and prepared to hold his ground. The column of fire hit him straight on and the Grass type was obscured from view for several seconds due to the raging flames. After the attack subsided, a worn-out and scorched Tangela emerged from the scattering embers. But after the firm roots gathered energy from the soil and transferred it to the Grass type, the battle-ready look returned to the face of Lucas' partner.

"Not the best strategy if you ask me," Kale scratched his chin as he voiced his opinion "You can't heal faster than Blace dishes out fire at 'ya. So let's finish it now! Blace, use Flamewheel!"

"And who's asking you, Kale?" Lucas once again laughed good-naturedly "Tangela, stop him in his tracks with Vine Whip!"

The Fire type shrieked challengingly and immediately coated himself with fire. The rotating fireball was soon on its way to the unfortunate Grass type but Tangela just drew more nutrients from the ground and lunged two of his many vines forward. Upon making contact with the Flamewheel, the botanical whips were immediately scorched but the Grass type kept pushing with all his might. The Chimchar tried to break through as well but in a suicidal maneuver, Tangela's vines ensnared the whole fireball and despite being partially set on fire, managed to disperse the flames and bind the little fire monkey.

"Now Absorb! Quickly! And then hoist him closer!"

The Vine Pokémon acted quickly and soon the botanical whips glowed with a translucent green light as energy was transferred from Blace to Tangela. On top of that, the roots once again supplied their owner with nutrients from the soil and Lucas' Pokémon had finally restored at least half the damage that the Fire Spin had caused. The Grass type's grip tightened and he harshly dragged the Chimchar closer, plowing the forest floor in the process. When Blace had gotten within a mere meter away from Tangela, Kale shouted:

"Now, buddy! Finish him off with another Fire Spin!"

"While he's breathing in, Tangela! Sleep Powder!"

The little fire monkey managed to partially win the struggle with the vines and loosed their grip enough to take a deep breath and prepare to let out the vortex of flames once again. However, just then Tangela started trembling and with each shake, more and more glistening white spores were released from his body. The powder got even more quickly into the Chimchar's system due to the deep breath he was taking in. Blace knew he had to attack, he had plenty of air to ignite the mighty flames but suddenly all his will to fight vanished. His eyelids felt heavy and instead of breathing out the vicious stream of fire, Blace just yawned.

In front of Kale's eyes, his starter fell asleep in the grip of Tangela's vines. The Grass type's eyes indicated some kind of a smile and using the latest boost of energy from the roots, Tangela tossed the Fire type aside.

"What… what did just happen?" was all Kale could mumble as his eyebrow twitched.

"Well, you were right that I couldn't heal fast enough. And I knew it from the beginning," explained Lucas with a simple smile, neither coy nor arrogant "So knowing that I couldn't beat you by attacking, I decided to put your Pokémon to sleep instead. There's more than one way to skin a Skitty, y'know."

"Bravo," congratulated Viviane with the usual arrogant smile of hers. "What, I told you I was going to be there clapping to the random guy who knocks you down a peg or two," was the blonde's answer to Kale's questioning look.

"Gee, Viv, that's very… mean of you," the bespectacled boy said with a blank look and picked up his sleeping starter.

"Don't sweat it, Kale," the girl chirped and patted his back "You're just a cocky neophyte now. With a little training you'll really be able to earn your bragging rights. And you'll probably achieve great things with your brand-new Bidoof. I just know it!"

"No kidding," Kale blurted and, watching his friend's rare almost-non-arrogant smile, added "And little Growlithe probably die every time you smile."

"Y'know, that's not a very nice thing to say to a lady when she's being nice to you," Viviane glared at Kale and cracked her knuckles.

"You were being nice to me? Well…uh, that was just a… jo…"

"MMMMHUMMUMHUUH!"

"What's tha… oh my goodness!" Viviane said with the extremely rare tone of sincere worry she used "Jed, I wasn't serious when I told you not to breathe!"

"Ah…finally…air!" was all the auburn-haired teen could wheeze after he finally started breathing once again.

"So you're gonna finally challenge the Oreburgh Gym, eh?" asked Kale when the group of adolescents reached the place where Route 204 angled upwards across the hill.

"Yeah, I'm gonna cross through the Valley Windworks and reach Oreburgh City from there. Now that I've finally got Abra, nothing makes me stay her anymore. Our last battle shows me we've trained enough," teased Lucas.

"I'm so beating you next time!" playfully shouted Kale and both boys shook hands before heading in different directions.

"Viv, you got any ideas for new contest combinations?" absent-mindedly asked Jed as he munched on sweet potatoes.

"Well, I've got an idea or two," answered the blonde and winked playfully. "Hey, are those people running towards us?"

"Huh? What are you tal…" Kale's face went pale when he saw the small group of a bug catcher, bug maniac, cue ball and a very shy girl rushing towards him as fast as they could. The cue ball leading the mob shook his fist and shouted:

"There he is! Get him!"

"Hey, new friends!" chirped Jed. Kale swiftly took him and Viviane by the arms and with Blace once again barely holding to his shoulder, jolted forward while shouting:

"Less talking, more running!"


	14. Meetings And Partings

_**Chapter 14:**_

_**Meetings and Partings**_

Floaroma Town. The cheery settlement in Western Sinnoh that prided itself as the "town that smells vividly of flowers". And indeed, flowers we everywhere. The quaint town had a surprising amount of parks for its size. If that were even parks at all- even the spaces between the apartment buildings scattered here and there around Floaroma were lush of greenery and flora of all kinds and colors. Having a garden full of seemingly ever-blossoming flowers seemed to be the norm for every household in the town. As one walked the small but lively streets of Floaroma, they would surely notice the dozens upon dozens of front yards full of cheery flowers that surrounded probably every single fresh-painted house in the town.

Aside from the, oh so overlooked by many, priceless gifts of nature that had lovingly embraced Floaroma, the town didn't have any other landmarks. The most popular one was, surely, the Contest Hall. The cheery settlement was usually quiet for most of the year, save for the groups of passing-by tourists that always stopped by to enjoy the seemingly never ending flower-beds, both inside and around Floaroma. But every time when the contest circuit opened once again and the time came for the "Vivid & Scented" town to house one of these so popular events, the place just started to buzz with visitors like a Combee's hive.

People flocked from everywhere- the coordinators themselves that tended to arrive earlier than everybody, the usual contest crowd that followed close by the circuit, even just ordinary passer-bys that had stopped to watch and see what the fuss was all about. Another notable landmark was the Floaroma Meadow- a hill just north of the town that was, if possible, even more flowery and scented. After a nice stroll up the eminence covered whole by all kinds of cheery flora, you arrive in front of a well-kept cabin. There you could purchase the finest honey in Sinnoh from an always grumpy, if not downright eccentric, old man.

The last, but certainly not in importance, local landmark is the Pick a Peck of Colors Flower Shop. A relatively small, but always full of people, family shop that dealt with the distribution and cultivation of flowers and berries in the area. Various handy equipment was sold there as well so anyone visiting Floaroma Town was sure to stop by and at least walk around the scent-filled shelves. This shop was also the current destination of our well-known trio. After arriving in the early afternoon, the first thing that the adolescents had done was visiting the Pokémon Center. Their Pokémon needed some rest and no one wanted a repeat of their previous visit in the Jubilife City Pokémon Center, either.

After arranging the much needed accommodations, and seeing that the battlegrounds were full of coordinators practicing for the contest that was going to be held on the next day, Viviane had suggested walking around town. The blonde didn't want to reveal her new combinations to a possible opponent and even the snarky girl knew their little group needed some rest and relaxation. And so, the trio had ventured down the main street. If one could even call it that.

There were no busy crowds like in Jubilife City or Oreburgh City. You could stroll casually here and don't bother to squeeze between the tsunamis of passer-bys heading in a thousand different directions. Kale couldn't help but compare it to the urban jungle of Jubilife and the industrial feel of Oreburgh. No matter how much he liked big cities, the bespectacled trainer had grown up in a historical town at the edges of the mighty Mt. Coronet. The smell of fresh air and flowers was even stronger here than it had been in his hometown, so the spiky-haired boy felt drawn to the little flowery town even more. After some time the group had reached a shop slightly bigger than the others. It was surrounded by Floaroma's ever present gardens as well but there clearly were quite a few people going in and out of it.

"Pick a Peck of Colors Flower Shop," Viviane had read out loud before suggesting "Let's go check it out, it certainly seems interesting."

The boys had just shrugged and followed their female companion in. One didn't throw away the opportunity of keeping Viv calm and happy for nothing. Ever since they had arrived, she had been unusually cheery. Even the daily dose of Jed-abuse had dropped with quite the percentage- a fact that, while both boys thanked for, seemed very strange after they had gotten used to the blonde's antics.

The shop was more spacious than it looked on the outside. There were around half a dozen people walking along the neatly organized shelves and the members of the little group almost immediately headed into different directions. Kale found himself near the exotic flowers section. There were some certainly unique specimens there. One of them looked like a miniature non-sentient version of Carnivine and out of boredom, the boy kneeled so he could see the text below the pot more clearly. Blace, perched on top of Kale's head as always, sniffed curiously some kind of dotted flowers that made him explode into a sneezing frenzy. His trainer swiftly took away the Chimchar from the flowers when red-hot embers started flying everywhere. The young trainer started whistling innocently and quickly moved to the next section.

There he found Viviane inspecting a booklet on how to cultivate berries. Upon entering the shop, the blonde girl had immediately headed towards the berries section. She knew that being a coordinator meant she had to have at least basic knowledge on berries and poffins, so Viv had judged Floaroma as the best place to gather the much-needed knowledge. While the basics were explained carefully in a casual language, the little book did show Viviane that making poffins was more than just making sweets. The coordinator needed to find the right kinds of berries that affected different aspects of the Pokémon, to choose the right ones for her Pokémon's personalities and just then make them delicious.

Fortunately, the guide was pretty helpful and the section had the needed equipment as well, so Viviane decided to buy what she needed right then and there. The girl doubted she'd need a watering-pot. It wasn't like she was going to stay at one place for more than a couple of days. Nonetheless, the girl inspected the funny-looking watering device shaped like a Psyduck's head with curiosity. Viviane barely looked up when Kale joined her and most certainly didn't realize Jed was behind her until he whispered sinisterly.

"Guys, something doesn't feel right about this place… it's if some evil force is watching us!"

"Oh, come on, Jed!" Viviane magically managed to keep an even voice as she faced her companion "It's just your imagination once again. What's next, the girl behind the counter will be a vampire capable of surviving direct sunlight?"

"AAARGH!" Jed suddenly shouted and furiously pointed at the Sprayduck in Viviane's hand "THE WEREPSYDUCK ARE HERE! REPENT!"

Kale just sighed and let the blonde coordinator handle Jed. Sure enough, after a Sprayduck on the head, the auburn-haired teen got real quiet real quickly.

"Ouch."

"You deserve it, you…"

The young trainer stopped following his friends' usual routine because something had caught his attention. At the end of the berries' section was standing a Pokémon looking like a bear cub. The little orange-colored critter plopped on the ground and kept on licking its paw. Kale noticed that it must had been dipped in a honey jar, judging by the yellow liquid on it and the joy on the bear cub's face as it ate it.

_Teddiursa, the Little Bear Pokémon. This cute, cuddly Pokémon is easily frightened and frequently licks its paws, which are usually covered with sweet honey._

The monotonous voice of the boy's Pokédex caught Viviane's attention. Upon noticing the cute critter, the black-and-yellow clad girl stopped berating Jed and headed in its direction. Kale knew that Viviane wasn't a girly girl, not at least a classic example, so he was somewhat surprised when she curiously picked up the cub and asked it with a gentle voice:

"Aw, are you lost, little guy? Is your trainer somewhere around here?"

Still, the Teddiursa was certainly one of those cute little thingies that made even tough guys act nicer. With that kind of look, it was only natural that even the toughest girl became girly around the Normal type. The Teddiursa itself didn't seem surprised when it was picked up. It must have been used to girls cooing around it, Kale guessed. The bear cub just kept licking its paw at first but then reared back its honey-less one. The blonde taught it was going to point in some direction and was [I]very[/I] surprised when the Teddiursa slashed at her and left a red scratch mark across her face.

"Whoa, it just nailed that Scratch attack," said Jed and whistled in admiration.

"Why, you little…" hissed the girl and swiftly took out a mirror out of her yellow backpack. "My face is ruined! I can't go out on front of the audience tomorrow looking like that!"

There goes the 'not a girly girl' reputation, thought Kale and snickered.

"Relax, I'm sure it's not that… holy smokes, how sharp are the claws of that thing?" shouted Kale when Viviane turned to face him and he saw the deep scratch mark running diagonally through the bridge of her nose. Viviane ignored everyone else for a second and immediately started looking for some kind of a medicine in her pack. Just then Kale noticed that the shop was somewhat empty at that moment and a strangely familiar voice reached his ears. And with each word, the boy felt surer he knew who the speaker was.

"And it's not like the guys here stand a chance. I would've won at Jubilife if not for that time limit. The time ran out just a second before the KO. My Hitmonchan literally embed that Vespiquen to the wall."

"Rico?" Kale asked after looking behind the shelves and seeing the familiar skinny blond leaning on the counter. There was a blonde girl around their age behind it, substituting for her mother or bigger sister no doubt. She was looking starry-eyed at the coordinator and Rico was certainly out to get some female attention by bragging about his exploits once again.

"Yo, Kale! What's up, man? What're you doing here? There ain't no gyms around. Or are you here with sweet little Vivi?" was the question that finished Rico's swift investigation. Viviane's angry shouts saved Kale the need to answer.

"Come on, Kale, we're going back to the Pokémon Center. I've nothing useful in my pack!"

"Hey, Viv, sweetie, what's… that on your face?" Rico laughed and as he altered the end of his question. Despite her "injury", the blonde felt obliged to put her fellow coordinator in his place.

"Why, hello there, Rico. Please do tell what are you doing here… after I rearrange your face for calling me 'sweetie'!" the girl grunted and grabbed her fellow blond by the front of his greenish-grey tank top.

"Whoa, Vivi, relax! And seriously how did that happen?" questioned Rico once again but with a serious voice.

"Some Teddiursa appeared out of nowhere, it gave Viv the cutesy look and she just couldn't ignore it and not go coo at it and try petting it," Kale saved his friend the painful memory of explaining "And then the little prankster used Scratch on her! Pretty nasty as you see."

"What, you mean this little dude?" Rico asked and pointed at the Teddiursa that had just appeared from behind the shelves, licking its paw as always. The blond boy immediately went to it and after picking it up cheered "Then it truly works! Since even Vivi couldn't resist you, every pretty girl will come knocking on my door as long as I have the help of your cutesy looks, buddy!"

"You mean that's your Teddiursa?" hissed Viviane and threw a disgusting, and angrier than ever, look at Rico. The girl behind the counter let out a 'humph' after hearing the boy's master plan as well.

"Yeah, I caught him at Floaroma Meadow. I bough honey from that old coot and splashed it on a tree. All kinds of Pokémon are drawn by the smell," explained Rico as he scratched his prized bear cub on the crescent mark on his head.

"And thanks to your menace, I can't show my face at the contest tomorrow! Because it nearly stripped the skin from it!" shouted Viv and accusingly pointed at both trainer and Pokémon.

"Uhm… we've some pretty good herbal medicine here, if you'd like," uncertainly suggested the girl behind the counter "We have to deal with scratches from wild Pokémon constantly when we're out to gather berries and flowers."

It certainly seemed that Viviane was lucky. The cream turned out pretty good and the scratch mark seemed like it would disappear by the end of the day. The girl even let the female coordinator keep the herbal medicine after Viviane bought all the berries and the handbooks she needed. They even gave the group free berries but Kale was fairly sure they gave some to every customer.

"Hey, guys, let's go check out Floaroma Meadow as well," Viviane suddenly suggested "There might be some kickass Sinnoh-native Electric types there that I could lure with honey!"

Kale and Jed had just eagerly agreed when Rico caught up to them with Teddiursa perched on top his head as Blace was on Kale's. The blond cheerfully exclaimed 'wait for me' and put his arm around his fellow coordinator's shoulders. Viviane promptly stomped him with all her might.

* * *

The walk up to Floaroma Meadow was certainly refreshing. As Rico had said earlier, the relatively short hill just outside town was teeming with all kinds of wild Pokémon. Sadly, none of them seemed to be of the Electric type, as Viviane mentioned to her friends with disappointment. When the group of youngsters arrived at the top, a magnificent view greeted them. From the flower-drowned top of the meadow they could see the whole Floaroma Town and the area surrounding it. Viviane couldn't help but ask herself how so many beautiful flowers could bloom in a region with such a cold climate. The sea of vegetation in nearly every possible color surrounding the quaint town seemed to have appeared as if by magical means.

When the adolescents finally remembered what they were there for and turned their backs on the soothing ocean of flowers below, they noticed an old man wandering around the tiny cottage perched on top of Floaroma Meadow.

"Hey, old coot! I've brought other guys that want to buy some of your honey!" shouted Rico with enough force to scare some wild Pokémon away. The bald man just kept humming and rearranging the seemingly wild flowers around his home slash shop.

"OVER HERE, 'YA OLD WHAC…" Rico's shout was promptly cut off by Viviane. The blonde had slapped her fellow coordinator across the face.

"Rico, don't talk to elder people like that! You're probably gonna be a drunk wandering the streets when you get old. If I don't kill you before that," the girl had smirked and flicked one of her spiky pigtails. "Now watch me do it."

As Rico muttered something that sounded like 'gee, thanks for believing in me', Viviane walked over to the old gardener. He didn't even seem to register that someone was standing on his side and had leaned to talk to him.

"Excuse me, dear sir, but can you be so kind as to sell us some of your sweet honey? Pleaaaase?" Viv asked with wide open bright blue eyes. Her male companions could just stare awestruck. Their reactions however, were different.

"Uhm, wear did Viv go?" pondered Jed and looked around.

"So she could act like a sweet girl after all?" Kale exclaimed with a blank face.

"Such sweetness! Vivi's cuter than ever!" Rico chirped.

"SHUT UP! MORON! The blonde shrieked and threw the old man's watering-pot at Rico. However, her aim was bad and it ended up knocking Blace off Kale's head.

"Ooops, sorry, Blace," the blonde apologized sheepishly as the bespectacled trainer tried to help his soaked and dazed starter. Fortunately, the commotion finally got the old man's attention.

"Huh? Is that 'ya talkin' there, Billy-Ray?" the bald gardener squinted at Viviane "Boy, do you grow backwards or somethin'? And what's with that do? Ya lookin' like some lassie!" grunted the man and whacked the girl with his cane. She was too dazed to retaliate.

"Oooh, yer here fer da honey, eh? Came along then, come along. But yer going to the barber's straight after! Oi, you comin' Billy-Ray?"

"ARE YOU INSANE, OLD MAN?" finally snapped the coordinator "I'm no Billy-Ray! I'm a girl! Now give me some honey and tell me can I catch some Electric types round here!"

"Whatcha talkin', Billy-Ray? Y'know there're no Electrics round here. Now how many jars you said 'ya wanted?" shrugged the bald gardener and went inside to look for his goods.

"WHY, YOU!" the blonde stomped the ground several times and took several deep breaths before answering "Nine, I guess. Three for each of us since Rico has already bought his, right?"

"Make that ten. I've a Munchlax, y'know," absent-mindedly said Jed as he and Kale handed Viviane their part of the money.

"Ten it is then, Billy-Ray," announced the honey-seller as he grabbed the money after walking out of the cottage with ten big jars of honey in his hands.

"What now? I'm bored," blurted Rico with hands behind his head.

"How about I rearrange your face for ogling me earlier?" suggested the blonde as she cracked her knuckles.

"I'm not in the mood for catching Pokémon now. I'm gonna stand here and stare at Floaroma Town below us," cheerfully announced Jed and plopped on the ground with legs crossed.

"Oookay," Kale laughed nervously at his friend's antics before shrugging "Let's stay here some more, if that's what you like. I'm gonna see if that Bidoof's at least worth the poke ball. This place is as good as any."

"Pfft, what kind of trainer catches a Bidoof?" Rico tried holding his laughter but couldn't and ended up rolling around.

"It's a long story," Viviane said blankly and put an end to her fellow coordinator's act by kicking him in the stomach without even moving from the place she was standing.

Kale just ignored them and tossed up Bidoof's poke ball. The brown-colored beaver appeared with the blankest look anyone has ever seen on his face once again. Kale just sighed when he realized the Pokémon wasn't even going to turn his way and just scanned it with his Pokédex.

_ Bidoof, the Plump Mouse Pokémon. It gnaws on trees and rocks with its strong front teeth and lives in nests near the water._

"Strong teeth, eh? Maybe Bidoof knows some fang attacks?" Kale suggested with hope evident in his voice and scrolled down the screen "Judging by the number of his tails, he's male and his known attacks are… TACKLE AND GROWL?"

"You don't Rico telling 'ya he's a wimp to know it, Kale," said Jed from where he was intently staring at Floaroma with the widest grin on his face.

"Sadly, McCrazy's right," admitted Viviane "Just release him, Kale and be done with it. This guy is just not cut out for battling. Heck, there's probably a Bug type around here that'll be a better addition to your team."

"Nah, I'll at least give him a chance," announced Kale after some consideration "And since Blace is still kinda dizzy, you're gonna battle… Staravia!"

With another flash of flight, the brown bird appeared above the group's heads and let out a shriek. Staravia circled some more to admire the scenery before swooping down and landing in front of his trainer.

"Staravia, we're gonna see how Bidoof can battle. He's knew to this stuff, so go easy on him, kay?" explained the boy but on the inside the trainer realized that 'going easy' was not part of the Flying type's dictionary.

"Okay then! Bidoof, prepare yourself! Staravia's gonna come at you with a Steel Wing. You dodge and use Growl to reduce his strength!"

The Flying type shrieked affirmatively and jolted forward. The Bidoof just turned around slowly so he could at least face his adversary. Alas, the Normal time just kept staring blankly and soon enough Staravia flew by and slashed at him with a glowing wing. The attack made the unmoving brown beaver's face bent but he at least stood his ground for a second or two. Kale had at least tried to make himself think the Bidoof had good defenses when the Plump Mouse Pokémon was swept off the ground and sent flying.

Only after he landed harshly on the ground, Bidoof showed some signs of understanding what was happening. The Normal type bared his teeth and let out a low, almost comical growl, and Staravia took a step back more because he was wierded out than scared. Nonetheless, upon Kale's command the Flying type rushed at his teammate once again. The confrontation played out similarly to the first one. Kale ordered a dodge, Bidoof stared blankly, Staravia hit and nearly made the beaver's head make a 360 degrees turn. Eventually, Bidoof ended up flying back and falling unconscious.

"Aww, man, what am I going to do with you? You have no battling talent whatsoever," sighed Kale as he picked up Bidoof and placed him back on all fours "Well, at least you recover quickly," noted the young trainer as he looked in his Pokémon's blank beady eyes. "Come on now, walk with us. No need to get inside your poke ball yet. We need to get used to each other if you're going to be on my team."

Kale could only sigh once again as the Normal type seemingly growled affirmatively. The bespectacled trainer gestured to his Pokémon to follow and turned around to catch up with his friends who already had gone down the hill.

"Good afternoon," greeted the pink-haired woman behind the counter "Would you like to have your Pokémon healed?"

"Oh no, we're here to get the keys to our rooms. Number 12, please," asked Viviane.

"Yep, 17 here," added Rico.

Kale absent-mindedly looked around the somewhat empty lobby, save for the occasional coordinators discussing about the upcoming contest. Well, the sun was setting already and no one wanted to exhaust their Pokémon more than necessary so many of them were probably lazying around in their rooms, thought the boy. Speaking of exhaustion, Blace got hit with a watering-pot and Bidoof… shrugging at the humiliating memory, Kale interjected.

"Actually, I'd like to have mine patched up a little," said the boy as he recalled the fire-monkey sleeping on top of his head and the Flying type pecking at the tiles next to him. But a horrible realization struck him when he absently-mindedly tried recalling his last team member.

"What the… I forgot Bidoof! I told him to follow us down but he must have wandered off somewhere. Aww man, GOTTA GO!"

Kale hastily handed his poke balls to Nurse Joy and sprinted out of the Center, leaving whoever was still in the lobby looking weirdly at the door.

* * *

The trip up to Floaroma Meadow certainly wasn't a pleasant one this time. Kale didn't have time to stop and appreciate the setting sun clearly visible from the hill, nor the way the blossomed flowers closed their petals. Listening to the new and unfamiliar noises the Pokémon made at night around here was out of the question as well. The only thing the boy could hear was his own voice inside his head, accusing him of being so absent-minded as to completely forget about Bidoof.

To his surprise, the young trainer found the Plump Mouse Pokémon not too far from where he had last seen him. The beaver was currently munching on the flowers just below the cottage's window. Praying that the grumpy old guy wouldn't notice just then that his garden was ruined, Kale sneaked to his Pokémon as silently as he could.

"Bidoof, I told you to follow me!" Kale berated the beaver in a hushed voice but then stopped upon hearing someone arguing inside the old man's cottage.

"Give us the goods, old timer! We're highly-ranked members of a mighty criminal organization!"

"Whatcha talkin' 'bout, Lil' Timmy? Yer a boy scout! And that's no way ta treat yer elders!"

Kale could hear the sound of someone getting hit reputedly with a cane and finally decided that it was safe to take a look inside. The old man was standing behind the counter and whacking with his cane none other but Vlad. The grunts were back in their uniforms and Vlad tried to put his half-fallen-off cyan wig back on as his twin tried restraining the gardener.

"Whoa, slow down, gramps! Just give us all the honey and we're gonna leave you alone. OR ELSE!" hastily shouted Draco when he realized his arguments weren't threatening in the least.

"Okay, okay, Marge! Sheesh, you still sound like a man, 'ya darn woman! Didn't I tell 'ya I didn't want to merry 'ya 55 years ago?" yelled the bald senior as he went into the back room to get some honey. Draco facepalmed.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Vlad, but I don't think the plan to threaten the old guy and steal all this honey is going well."

"Nonsense! Well, it may not be going perfectly but no one's here to see our humiliation. And when we get the honey, we're gonna sell it for a dozen times more than it is really worth. That's the best honey in Sinnoh after all, no one's gonna accuse us of cheating. It's not my fault that this old geezer sells it so cheap!"

"Uh-huh. And why sell honey when we could nab some rare Pokémon, huh, genius?" asked the other twin with a blank and mocking stare.

"And here comes the best part of my master plan!" bridled up Vlad.

"You don't say."

"No, listen up! Neptune's in charge of finding all these Plates or whatever thingies, right? And from experience we know Mars is in charge of recruiting. But there are other Commanders as well. The cafeteria guard told me that Saturn is in charge of money matters. So if we sell all that honey for a bunch of bucks and give all of 'em to him, he's gonna promote us!"

"Vlad, you're a geni… hey, who's that?" shouted Draco in surprise and pointed at Kale. The boy cursed his luck and with Bidoof in his hands, attempted to hightail it out of there and call the police. Unfortunately, Draco's Seviper was called out, and after exiting through the window, cut off the young trainer's escape route.

The twins themselves appeared out of the door not long after. Vlad chuckled sinisterly and called out his Zangoose. Kale slowly placed Bidoof on the ground and glared at his ferociously growling and hissing opponents.

"Hah, like I need help to deal with you two!" goaded the boy. Draco looked insulted but Vlad looked ready to burst. Kale confidently attempted to get one of the poke balls on his belt… only to find nothing there. He had forgotten them all back at the Center!

After glancing once again at the constantly clenching and unclenching claws of the Zangoose and the saber-like teeth of the Seviper glistening in the light of the sunset, Kale suddenly saw his opponents in a new light. The spiky-haired trainer gulped and whispered to his only Pokémon on hand.

"Bidoof, we're in a tight spot here. I know you didn't do well before but… this is your time to shine, buddy. You… you can do it!"

"Enough mushy stuff!" blurted Vlad furiously "Zangoose, show 'em how it's done with Crush Claw!"

"Seviper, Poison Tail!" echoed his twin.

"Bidoof, dodge and Tackle! I believe in you, buddy! YOU CAN DO IT!"

The dark green snake was closer and reached its victim first. Bidoof looked like he was really trying to help Kale and had lifted one of his legs to move but… Seviper's glowing pike-like tail slashed at him with perfect accuracy and sent him flying up. Zangoose jumped over his eternal enemy slash unwanted partner and slashed at the beaver-like Pokémon with his claws glowing bluish-white. The claws left a sparkling trail as they cut through the air and caught the Normal type in a crushing grip. The Cat Ferret Pokémon slammed his opponent into the ground and grinned maliciously when he saw that Bidoof was unconscious.

"Sheesh, why did you shout like that?" Draco asked, still covering his ears "Did you expect the midget to learn a new move or suddenly evolve or something? Pfft!"

"Honestly, I kinda did," admitted Kale with slumped shoulders as he recalled his fainted Pokémon from below Zangoose's claws. "Aww man, this pathetic attempt at a battle is so embarrassing I'm not scared anymore!"

"You said it, mate," mockingly laughed Vlad before shaking his fist at Kale "But I'm gonna put the scare right back in 'ya! We were sent in jail because of you! Zangoose, Crush Cla…"

"Thunder Punch into Earthquake!"

The Cat Ferret Pokémon hadn't even moved an inch when a tan blur flew over Vlad and Draco's heads and after bouncing off of the cottage's wall, crashed into the ground in front of Kale like a cannonball. The impact sent shattering tremors through the ground and shockwaves and flying debris swept Zangoose and Seviper. Not only that but yellow bolts of electricity exploded outwards as well and bounced off from one flying piece of ground to another. The bolts of lightning struck the two grunt's Pokémon repeatedly until finally they were both paralyzed and unable to move.

"Hey, Kale! You okay, mate?" shouted and waved Rico as he ran to his friend and panted. The bespectacled trainer finally realized that the thing knee-deep into the small crater in front of him was Hitmonchan.

"Thanks…thanks, Rico," said Kale in shock before questioning "How did you know I was in trouble?"

"I didn't," waved off the question Rico "Vivi got scared, not that she'll admit but I can read her like a book, y'know. She just so swee…" Kale forcedly coughed. "Oh yeah, she got scared cause you ran off without any Pokémon. And she had the nerve to send me to catch up with you and protect your sorry butt. Which I did splendidly," announced the blond coordinator and bridled up.

As much as he wanted it, Kale couldn't deny that the other boy had been the hero in the situation. Instead, he took a look at the panicked Vlad and Draco who tried to make their Pokémon move, only to be zapped by static electricity over and over. Rico couldn't pass by the opportunity of bragging and goading them.

"You want some more, punks? Come and get it!" Rico made mocking boxing moves in the air and Hitmonchan followed his trainer's example with a grin of his own.

"You now what we're gonna do now, Draco?" angrily shouted Vlad and crossed his arms.

"Run away like cowards again?" innocently guessed the other twin and earned a smack up the head by his brother.

"No, moron! IT'S CALLED A TACTICAL RETREAT!" yelled Vlad and after grabbing his brother and their paralyzed Pokémon, ran away.

Not long after, Kale and Rico heard another person shouting from the way up the hill.

"Kale! Hey, Kale!" Viviane waved and hastily shoved Kale's three poke balls in his hands. Watching the girl wheeze and pant, the trainer was glad that she was showing concern for him. Until…

"You forgot your poke balls, moron!" Viviane shouted and whacked the back of his head.

"Chiiim! Chimchaaar!"

"Here comes the Jed Express!"

"Took you long enough to catch up," blurted the blonde as a smiling as ever Jed and a hastily waving Blace on top of his head ran up to them.

"See, Vivi, I saved your boy-toys butt. Those dimwits didn't stand the ghost of a chance against me and Hitmonchan! Now how bout at least a peck on the cheek for the her…"

"What dimwits?" Viviane asked Kale as she shoved Rico aside.

"Vlad and Draco again," sighed Kale and Viviane and Jed pondered why their friend was looking so downcast. The old gardener suddenly showed up to brighten up the situation.

"Hey, I've brought da honey! Where're 'ya, 'ya lazy bums? Marge? Lil' Timmy? Bah, ungrateful dimwits!" grumbled the bald man as he went back inside and slammed the door. "Hey, why's it so cold in here?" came his voice from the broken window.

"Well, I guess that's it for today," Viviane said as she glanced at the direction of the last parting rays of the sun. "I and dimwit here have a contest tomorrow, so we better go back to the Center and get some sleep."

"Hey, who are you calling dimwit?" the insulted blond shouted and his Hitmonchan vigorously nodded in agreement. Viviane ignored him once again.

"Kale, you coming?"

"I've a thing to do here first," grimly said the bespectacled trainer without looking her in the eyes. The boy detached one of the poke balls from his belt and opened it. Viviane raised an eyebrow upon seeing the blue light that burst out.

Upon materializing, the brown beaver slowly looked up at Kale with a questioning look. The black-haired boy took a deep breath before kneeling to his former Pokémon with stern expression on his face.

"Bidoof, look, it's not that I don't like you or anything. But you're…I… I can't train you. I was ready to let that previous training battle slide but against Vlad and Draco, you did nothing. Your inability to battle and complete lack of at least basic skills endangered both of us. And in a similar situation, we, the whole team, could've been depending on you. I've a goal, 'yknow. To break the record for the youngest trainer to win the Sinnoh League. And that's why I can't afford having weakling on my team dragging me, [I]us[/I], down."

The boy got up and turned his way on the Plump Mouse Pokémon. Forcing himself not to look into the pleading eyes of the Pokémon he was leaving behind, Kale said without looking back:

"Y'know, gramps used to say that a trainer, a real trainer, can win a fight against a Tyranitar with a Pichu. Guess I'm not a real trainer yet after all. It's my fault as much as yours. Floaroma Meadow is a great place. Make a home here, enjoy the goods nature gives you and live a good life! Just… just forget about me, okay?"

The spiky-haired boy headed down the road. He couldn't help but glance at the expressions of his friends. Rico and Viviane seemed to understand. The male coordinator's reaction was a mix between a shrug and a nod. The girl looked just surprised at what her friend had done but Jed… Kale managed to catch a glimpse of the teen's accusing glare just before the auburn-haired boy put his eternal smile back on.

"Chim, char-char chiim?"

"I've made my mind already, Blace," grimly said Kale and avoided the eyes of the fire-monkey perched on his shoulder. The rest soon followed their friend down the road, leaving only the released Bidoof alone in the darkening evening.

The last rays of the sun had long ago hid behind the horizon. No one could see the single glistening tear forming in one of the beaver's beady eyes, nor was there anyone to hear the determined growl that the Bidoof let out…


	15. Second Time's the Charm

_**Chapter 15:**_

_**Second Time's The Charm?**_

"Welcome, ladies and gents, welcome, Sinnoh fans!" the MC's voice reverberated from the walls of the spacious dome and caught the attention of the crowd who were waiting anxiously for the event to start. "Bad rhymes aside, I've only one question for you, folks: are you ready? Are you ready for the excitement? The beauty? The battles? Are you ready for our annual Floaroma Town contest?"

The audience let out an approving roar and each and every spotlight focused on the attractive redhead in the center of the battlefield. Marian greeted the shouting mass with a wide smile and, dressed in her usual outfit and armed with her trusty mic, proceeded to do her magic.

"We're all here today to learn one thing and one thing only- who is going home with the prized, the precious, Floaroma Town ribbon!" another round of cheering accompanied Marian's voice as she displayed the coveted coordinator token for everyone to see. "As always, the coordinators are going to be evaluated by our stern but fair panel of judges: the head of the Ribbon Society, Mr. Contesta! The president of the Pokémon Fan Club, Mr. Sukizo! And last but certainly not least, the "vivid and scented" town's very own Nurse Joy!"

Yet another wave of applauding echoed around the contest hall as the three judges greeted the audience from their respective places. The MC waited a little for the cheering for a certain pink-haired judge to subside before announcing:

"But enough with the introductions! It's high time to see who's gonna come out on top this year- a returning veteran? Or maybe a green, green rookie? Well, folks, we're about to find out soon enough! Give it up for our first contestant!"

* * *

"Viv's gonna have a hard time beating some of those guys," pointed out a certain bespectacled preteen upon witnessing what was maybe the twelfth appeal.

"You kidding? I feel sorry for those guys," absent-mindedly answered the oddly-dressed teen next to him. Kale was about to ask from where did Jed's sudden believe in Viviane's abilities came when the blond added "She's got one hell of a left hook, y'know."

The hazel-eyed trainer pinched the bridge of his nose. The multicolored bird perched on Jed's shoulder just whacked his owner up the head without moving his eyes away from the current appeal, performed by female member of his species.

"Oh, yes… the contest," mumbled Jed from somewhere inside the extra large bowl of chips he had gotten from inside his bottomless backpack. "Sorry," quipped the teen and picked himself up by his yellow beanie.

"Honestly, sometimes I can't believe you're not faking this," said Kale and the little fire-monkey perched atop his head nodded in agreement.

"Faking what?" asked Jed and scratched his chin in thought "I guess you're just gonna have to believe in the me who believes in the you who believes in said believing me. Or believe the you who believes the me who believes in you is not truly believing. Believe it!" finished the silver-eyed boy with a lopsided grin and a thumbs-up.

"Yay! The heck? Yay!" was all Chatot could squeak.

"Chaar?"

"Relax, I don't understand a word either," shrugged Kale and patted his Chimchar on the head.

"Huh?" exclaimed Jed mid-bite and pointed at the stage, ready to jump over the railing. "A pimp! There's a pimp down there! Security!"

"Jed, the pimp's Rico. He just has a fashion sense so bad, other boys can pick up on it," sighed Kale and pondered whether to haul his loony friend back or pretend he didn't know him. In the end, he felt at both tasks.

"RICO'S A PIMP?" bellowed the teen in shock and buried his fingers in the locks of dirty-blonde hair jutting from beneath his hat. "As a friend it is my duty to stop him from going down this path myself!"

"NO!" shouted Kale and cringed as the whole audience eyed him with annoyance. The young trainer hastily pulled back the other boy and pinned him to his seat- just in case some more unfortunate surprises arose again. "It's just a costume.

"Oh… I see," Jed nodded in understanding and seemingly in shock. And a second later he nearly stomped Kale and Blace flat upon lunging at the railing once again. "HEY, RICO! MIND IF I BORROW THAT FEDORA LATER?"

Down in the center of the stage, Kale saw Rico facepalming.

After a good several minutes of Kale, Blace and one very grumpy Chatot trying, and failing, to stop Jed from making a fool out of himself and somehow escaping the clutches of security, the breathless- save for Jed of course- group found themselves a place to watch from the very top of the audience.

* * *

"Hitmonchan! It's fightin' time!" came Rico's enthusiastic shout from way down below.

Clad in his black tuxedo and with his messy blond hair comically slicked back, the coordinator was finally in the center of attention. He masterfully balanced the spinning poke ball on his finger before tossing it at the judges. The red-and-white sphere burst open with an explosion of dancing music notes and sizzling confetti. The flash of light formed into the familiar boxer who landed into a crouch right in front of a startled Sukizo.

"Nice dynamic entry, pal! Now show them your moves!"

Nurse Joy gasped as a sudden left jab stopped centimeters from her colleague's pale sweaty face. Hitmonchan grinned at the judges' reaction and kept on bouncing around and punching left and right in the air. The pace quickly grew faster and faster as Hitmonchan danced his battle routine around the evaluators. The crowd gasped as sparks started flying left and right from the punches seemingly out of pure tension. And then Hitmonchan finally showed off his real speed and started break-dancing round and round, each pose and move accompanied by a Thunder Punch or two. Yellow arks of lighting crashed with easily explode-able music notes and confetti that swirled around as well due to the sheer speed of the tan Pokémon's dance.

"Vacuum Wave!"

Hitmonchan's circling came to a halt by Nurse Joy's side and the humanoid Fighting type proceeded to spin on his head, arms wide outstretched. What was left of the music notes and the confetti was sucked into the twin twisters intertwining each other that emerged from the red blurs that were now Hitmonchan's boxing gloves.

"Ice Punch!"

Just as suddenly, the tan Pokémon sprang back on his feet and blue spark-like energy covered his fists. With both arms punching forward, the double twister absorbed the energy and shot forward, earning a shriek from Nurse Joy and crisscrossing around the judges before freezing solid.

"Let's wrap it up, buddy! Fire Punch!"

An eerie crimson glow emanated from Hitmonchan's boxing gloves, before expanding along the whole length of the double helix. The scarlet flames could have been seen dancing inside the hollow ice tunnels for several seconds before bursting into a myriad of embers and ice shards.

After nearly a minute, and seeing that the unharmed but very startled judges didn't seem in any shape to comment, Marian clapped awkwardly before being followed by the dumbstruck audience.

"I call that working up the crowd! Go, Rico! Hehehe!"

"Thank you, thank you! But it's all Hitmonchan's doing! Thank you!" Rico kept on waving and bowing along with his partner until Marian hastily nudged in the way to the backstage. There, for the briefest of seconds, Kale caught a glimpse of two buff men taking Rico by the sides and leading him away.

"Guess they waited for him to finish 'cause they thought he'd decapitate the judges or something," explained the young trainer to the currently dumbstruck Chimchar on his shoulder. "But you probably loved the 'creativity' of it, huh, Jed?"

"Yay! Checkmate! Yay!"

"Jed!"

"Not now, Kale, this is a question of life and death!" scolded the teen and waved his friend off without turning around. Deeply emerged into the game of chess with his own feathered Pokémon, Jed cracked his neck and knuckles and surveyed the board with the look of a professional. "Uhm, Chatot? How did the Horsea thingies move again?"

* * *

"And now, give it up for our next contestant! She's here to compete all the way from the sunny Orange Islands! Let's hear it for Viviane!"

Marian's enthusiastic intro would have been drowned by the audience's cheers if not for her trusty mic. Of course, as tradition had it, the male part of the audience cheered the loudest since said contestant was an attractive girl.

"Heads up, Grossmeister, Ice Queen's next," said Kale over his shoulder and leaned on the railing.

"Eleven loses! Straight!"complained Jed and hauled his depressed body next to his friend. "This sucks."

"Yay! Don't forget- eleven loses, only ten minutes of playing! Sucker! Yay!"

"Pikachu!"

Viviane's augmented voice cut short any future bickering between the chess-playing duo. The blonde had taken the center of the stage. Her black-and-yellow gothic lolita outfit was mostly the same as the last time, save for the addition of a pair of fishnet detached sleeves that doubled as fingerless gloves. And Vivi's new hairdo composed of four, just as spiky, but noticeably shorter, pigtails.

"It's show time!"

The poke ball in her outstretched hand erupted into a vortex of bluish bubbles that accompanied the white flash headed towards the roof.

"Thunderbolt!"

The flash formed into Viviane's cocky yellow partner. Pikachu proceeded to immediately roll in mid-air and the speedy rodent soon gathered enough momentum to keep himself airborne. Lightning coated his rolling form and whips of electricity soared high above the battlefield. The bubbles however, didn't burst upon contact, but each and every one of them absorbed a jolt or two to produce dozens upon dozens of sparkling orbs hovering in mid-air.

"Iron Tail!"

The crackling ball of lightning canonballed downwards and just before crashing, Pikachu drove his glowing bolt-like tail into the ground. The gathered electricity quickly jolted down the makeshift lightning rod and the myriad of electrified bubbles that were swirling around the stage burst at the exact same time into a dazzling shower of sparks.

"Let's put a new spin to it! Charge!"

The electric mouse quickly obliged and after removing his tail from the ground, used it as a balance point and started to spin around like a top. The electricity gathered inwards and soon Pikachu was nothing more than a rotating sphere of lightning once again.

"We're wrapping it up! Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

The Electric type's tail lit up once again. but even as it curled around its owner, Pikachu kept on spinning on the ground, now fast enough to overcome the friction.

The Iron Tail soon became nothing but a blur as well and the glowing ring around the spinning orb made it look like an UFO. Pikachu started gradually spinning around Viviane as well and not long after the concentrated circling ended up atop the blonde's outstretched hand,

"Now!"

The electrical UFO's spinning came to a sudden and abrupt end. All the gathered energy was released in one blinding burst and sparks rained around the field. As the audience realized that the appeal was over and exploded into applause, Viviane just stood there with the confident 'I-own-this-place' smile Kale knew oh-so-well on her ruby lips.

* * *

"So how's Captain Spinning-Top-Of-doom?" asked Kale and plopped down on the seat facing his female companion.

Viviane eyed him warningly, in case any more bad jokes felt the urge to come out of the boy's mouth, and kept on absent-mindedly fixing her pigtails. Kale didn't press on, already well familiar with her behavior, and just focused on the surrounding frenzy in the backstage room.

It was just like the last time- coordinators running left and right in search of an accessory or two, girls checking up on their make-up and boys struggling with tie knots, all the while trying to take mental notes on the battle shown on the wide screen.

"He's better off in his poke ball now. We kinda overdid it with the spinning," Viviane finally answered after a minute or so.

"Well, at least you got lucky with your first opponent. Jolteon evaporated him in no time."

"I still can't believe they let _him _pass the appeals, too," grumbled the blue-eyed girl.

"Well, they either thought he was creative," said Kale after one quite loud snort "or they thought he'd finish decapitating them if they voted him off."

"_What a spectacle, folks, and what a win! Rico and Kricketot proceed to the next stage,"__ announced a very thrilled Marian from the screen._

"Well, I guess you're up against him in the semi-final. You up for it?" teased Kale and, just in case, put Blace on the seat next to him. His starter getting grievous injuries due to a fowl accident wasn't on the spiky-haired boy's to-do list.

"Oh, please. Is that a rhetoric question? Because this one is," smirked Viviane and stood up in wait for Marian to announce the start of the first semi-final from the screen.

"Yay! And for the seventh time in a row! 21! Yay!"

"What? The house's cheating, that's no fair!"

"Yay! You're the house, moron! Yay!"

"And if anyone asks," sighed Viviane with annoyance and pointed at Jed and Chatot, deeply emerged into a card game on the nearby sofa, "I don't know them."

* * *

"Floaroma Town Contest, semi-final round, first match. Viviane versus Rico. We've got five minutes on the clock, folks. Aaaand BEGIN!"

"They sure don't waste their time," pointed out Kale from his place above the audience. The unofficial rivals' respective Pokémon had been called out before the countdown had even reached 4:47.

Jolteon, after a mid-air front flip, landed gracefully, accompanied by an array of green lightning. Kricketot just broke into old movie kung-fu katas immediately upon emerging.

"As serious as always, I see," smirked Viviane.

"Oh, we'll show you serious! X-Scissor!"

With surprising speed and balance, the Bug type turned a silly-looking roundhouse kick into a swift crossing motion with his sickles.

"Not impressed," said Viviane and sighed forcedly. "Jolteon, Charge Beam."

With a menacing hiss, the regal feline let out a dozen or so electrical streams that clashed with the glowing X. But instead of flaring out of life with the rest of the makeshift firework display, the leftover jolts headed towards the Electric type's body. Upon absorbing them, Jolteon's already spiky fur and mane grew even longer and spikier, in addition to achieving a yellow-greenish luminescent glow. Rico frowned as his points dropped down and Viviane seized the moment.

"Quick Attack! And don't give him a second of rest!"

"Hang on, Kricketot! Dodge and Screech her ears off!"

Alas, it seemed that the Bug type just couldn't compete in speed with the feline. Jolteon had already crossed half the field, leaving a glistening electrical trail in her wake when Kricketot showed the first signs of moving. But then, just as suddenly, he merely sidestepped out of the way and, like some violinist, played an ear-splitting melody on his sickles.

Jolteon cringed at the sound but proceeded to bounce back and lunge for another try. The result was the same. And so, the misfit duo took turns at their parody of a dance- Jolteon missing her target over and over and leaving glowing streams behind and Kricketot dodging skillfully again and again, all the while playing his dreadful melody.

"I think someone's at a dead end," pointed out Rico with a smug smile as Viviane's points dropped below the ¾ mark.

"You haven't seen a thing yet," answered his fellow coordinator with a smirk playing on her lips.

Kricketot, just after dodging yet another attack, sidestepped right into one of the glowing lightning streams crisscrossing the entire field. The electric current sprang to life upon contact and covered the Bug type's whole body, paralyzing him.

"Now! Send him flying!"

Jolteon lunged at her opponent right away and delivered a sudden double kick to his chin with her strong hind legs.

"Release the charge, Jolteon! Pin Missile!"

With a triumphant growl, the electric feline stiffened her body and from each and every spike of her fur and mane burst out dozens of lightning-charged missiles.

"Kricketot, Swords Dance!"

A greenish glow surrounded the Bug type as he crossed his sickles in front of his chest and spun like a top. The onslaught of super-charged missiles collided with him immediately after, bursting into wave after wave of dancing sparks and illuminating the contest hall even brighter than all the spotlights combined.

"Finish him off with Quick Attack!"

Jolteon sprang forward in a flash and crashed into Kricketot's falling body face-first. To her great surprise, he somehow survived the impact and skidded to a stop after a few meters.

"Fury Cutter, buddy, now's your chance!"

"Dodge them all!"

The shocked Electric type barely had time to move away as an enlarged glowing sickle slashed at the air where she had been a mere second ago. However, Kricketot didn't stop there and kept on attacking, forcing Jolteon to show off unexpected flexibility for a four-legged creature.

"How? He should've been done for after the last hit," Viviane shouted over the ruckus of the audience.

"Spin fast enough and you can deflect an attack. Or at least part of it," replied Rico with a shrug. "Using a stat-enchasing move for defense- effectively killing two birds with one stone. You did the same with Charge Beam."

"But you're still on the losing side," smirked Viviane and pointed at the board "for each attack Jolteon dodged you lost points. And she keeps on dodging."

Rico glanced at the score board- his points were nearing the ¼ mark and Viviane's were barely at the halfway point.

"True. But Fury Cutter gets stronger with each attack. Add up the boost from the Swords Dance and you'll see that if even a single hit connects… poof!"

"Jolteon, Quick Attack to get some distance!"

The regal feline happily obliged and after dodging yet another glowing super-sized sickle, bounced off Kricketot himself. Jolteon skidded to a stop in front of her owner and hastily tried to hide her panting. Kricketot didn't bother with masking his current condition and leaned on his now normal sickle to catch a breath.

"You know, telling your opponent what your strategy is at a critical point in the battle isn't one of the smartest things you can do," said Viviane, somehow even more arrogantly than usual.

"It doesn't matter if you know it or not. I'm winning either way."

"Oh, please! Thirty seconds on the clock, Rico," smirked Viviane. "Jolteon can dodge your only ranged attack but Kricketot isn't in any shape to dodge one. And there's no way he can come closer without getting hit- thus either fainting or you losing the rest of your points.

"We'll take our chances," shrugged Rico and winked at his fellow coordinator "I'm gonna win that ribbon for you, Vivi."

"Thanks, but I rather do it myself" answered the girl icily. "Jolteon, Thunderbolt! There's no way he can dodge it now!"

"Who said anything about dodging?"

"Excuse me?"

Viviane's cerulean eyes widened as the jagged lightning bolt her partner had let out of her body collided with a glowing sickle now five times its original size and engulfed the Bug type's whole body… only to be sucked into the ground as his other claw was driven deep into it. Clearly in great pain, but more determined than ever, Kricketot lunged forward with a fierce growl, his left sickle driving a deep ridge in the ground in his wake and redirecting the electricity.

Viviane could only watch with eyes wide opened. Before she could even utter something to help Jolteon, who was still struggling in vain to zap her opponent, Kricketot had driven his free sickle through the regal feline's body. Every single one of the blonde' points withered away to nothingness as her partner lost consciousness, only for the clock to announce the official end of the battle several seconds later.

* * *

"Growlithe, Flamethrower!"

"Kricketot, Swords Dance into Fury Cutter!"

The fiery canine exhaled a vicious stream of red-hot scorching fire that crashed straight into the spinning form of the Bug type who had jumped right in the middle of it. A bright green glow emanated from within the inferno as the rotating Pokémon scattered the flames way and kept on flying towards their originator. The Growlithe didn't even have time to react as his body was slashed across by an enlarged glowing sickle.

"Well… at least you lost to the winner," sheepishly said Kale to the overly quiet blonde leaning on the railing next to him.

"Shut it, Kale," grumbled Viviane and turned her head away. "You saw me out there. I totally lost it when none of my strategies worked. We lost because of _me_. Jolteon was hurt because of _me_."

The young trainer frowned as he saw his friend's pale fingers tightening around the electric feline's poke ball, which she had been holding ever since their loss.

"I have to take her to the Pokémon Center. Tell Rico 'bravo' for me," icily said the coordinator and, looking down to hide her eyes, headed towards the exit.

"We shouldn't leave her alone, y'know," quipped Jed upon returning from the snack booth and leaning next to his bespectacled friend.

"Yeah, we shouldn't," sighed Kale and turned to follow the blonde. "But we should give her enough time to think it through along the way. Losing when you were sure victory was a hundred percent yours is not easy. I learned that when I fought Lucas. Not to mention how high were the stakes for her today. So don't walk too fast, kay?"

No one paid attention to the foursome that exited the stage. No one cared where the two boys and the Pokémon perched on their shoulders were heading to. No one but the person who currently had the most attention of all. The winner of the Floaroma Town annual contest. Upon noticing his friends heading out, without Viviane at their side, Rico heartily thanked everyone, pointed out that the credit was nearly all Kricketot's and hastily grabbed the ribbon from Mr. Contesta's hands. Most people would have thought such exit was strange and quite rude. But then again, no one was actually surprised after the boy's _unique _appeal. And so Rico managed to run after the other two without anyone bugging him with questions or shooting daggers at his back.

* * *

"I told you already, Kale, I'm going home."

"And I'm telling you again, you can't do this!"

Kale couldn't help but be aware of the reversal of their usual roles. Albeit often boiling inwardly at Viviane's behavior and temper, he had been the one replying with just an annoyed voice and constant pretending he didn't actually care. Viviane was the one that always shouted and grumbled and was violent when things didn't go her way, not him! And here he was now, shouting at the girl he hadn't even thought he would dare raise his voice against. It would have been way too much trouble dealing with her after that. But worst of all, she was just sitting on her bed and staring down. No chilly glares. No threatening responses. No nothing. The blonde just kept on mentally drilling a hole in the polished wooden floor.

"How can you even think of giving up? Again!" continued Kale with barely restraint anger in his voice. "I thought we sorted this one already back in Jubilife. You can't just give up after a few bumps along the road. You just have to keep on trying and trying and trying again until you succeed!"

"I kinda don't think she's in the mood for this right now," interrupted Jed and picked up Kale's Chimchar away from the bickering duo. Or more like his bickering trainer.

"Well, I don't care. A trainer never gives up! Even if they have to drag their butt over to the field and fight beside their Pokémon themselves, trainers don't. Give. Up. Those who give up are lower than trash."

"So you think I'm trash, eh?"

Kale didn't know what shocked him more- the question itself or Viviane's blank voice. Either way, the bespectacled boy could only stand there, frozen like a statue, at loss of words for one of the rare times in his life.

"He doesn't. Because he knows you're not a quitter."

The panting newcomer leaned on the doorframe and wiped the sweat dripping from his face. The grin he flashed at the trio inside the room was left unanswered. Kale, while thankful that Rico's surprise appearance had saved him from having to say something and had actually managed to put his thoughts in a few short words, still didn't know how to react. Viviane just kept on staring at her feet and only Jed didn't seemed fazed at all by the male coordinator's arrival.

"Took you long enough," snickered the silver-eyed teen.

"Listen, I'm not telling you to, I'm asking you to listen to me," said Rico and leaned in front of his fellow coordinator, at a distance that would have earned him a nice punch a mere hour ago. "Sensei always said 'for one to be ready to win, he has to be ready to lose'. And while the geezer does have the habit of sprouting random wise nonsense, that's true. What, you've lost, like, two battles? Ones that you nearly won? And are you forgetting about passing both appeal rounds on your very first tries? Do you actually know how many coordinators are voted off then? And didn't you actually reach the semi-finals on both tries? You've got great potential, you just need time to realize it."

"Don't waste your breath," cut him off the blonde. "I'm just not cut out for it"

Rico's laugh shocked his fellow trainers.

"Not… cut out... for it?" barely managed to wheeze the spiky-haired boy. "So you're gonna leave those rivalries unresolved? Rivals need each other to keep on getting stronger, y'know. Are you going to leave me with a single win? I can't brag about it if I think things would've been different given other circumstances. And Rebecca? You're gonna let that sneaky minx brag that you've given up? I thought you were just waiting to get back at her. And what about Steven? He lost two contests before winning in Jubilife, remember? And look at him now! I might not normally say it, but we've all got some catching up to do with him."

Apparently, there was no end to surprises. Kale was sure that Viviane would just shrug off this attempt to make her see reason as well but the blonde looked up and asked with a nearly normal voice:

"But I just can't win this thing! How am I supposed to keep it up like this?"

"I've got one word for you, Vivi. _Adapt_. You might not like hearing it, but be it contests or gym challenges, specializing in a single type isn't a good thing. Most gym leaders and Elite Fours had either been apprenticed for at least a decade and had struggled overcoming their types weaknesses for years on end. Unless you're planning on waiting for your fifth ribbon until you are twenty, I suggest you freshen up your team. You're overspecializing and that's not a good thing, trust me."

"But Electric types are _my_ type! It just feels right- feels _good_- using them," protested the girl.

"Well, sorry, but that's the truth. Sensei warned me about it when I apprenticed under him. He didn't even let me catch more Fighting types. That's why I caught a Kricketot in the first place, the old geezer told me to catch something drastically different. The dodge and Screech strategy I used today? I adapted it from Rebecca's annoying dancing routine. The Swords Dance shield? I knew I had to adapt to Bug type's weakness to fire- so I trained Kricketot to be able to deflect oncoming stuff with it. And most of all, I knew I had to find a way to defend against your electricity when going up against you. By coming up with the idea of using Fury Cutter to ground Kricketot, I came up with a way to beat a whole team of Electric types if I had to. Learn from your enemy, Vivi."

A long and awkward silence filled the room once again before Viviane's chilly voice cut right through it.

"Rico… get closer to me and I swear, I'm putting you in the infirmary."

"Yep, all fine and dandy now," laughed Jed and turned to the multicolored Flying types perched on the windowsill. "Told ya it would work.

"How did you even know I'd come?" asked Rico after hastily scurrying away from his now normal rival.

"Lunatic's intuition," shrugged the oddly-dressed teen.

"Well, I guess I've to be going back to my room now," said Rico upon finally noticing he was still in his tuxedo. And having lost the fedora Jed had liked so much along the way.

"Yeah, we should go to bed earlier tonight," added Kale, now finally relaxed, and pointed back at his traveling companions. "We have to be up bright and early tomorrow- we don't want to end up stranded in Eterna Forrest after dark. That reminds me, Jed, you did buy that map of the area I told you to, right?"

"Eh? Uhm, yeah, sure thing. Right," absent-mindedly mumbled the teen in response, frowning for being on the losing side of a thumbs war despite going against a colorful feathery opponent who didn't even have opposable thumbs.

**TBC**


	16. Forest Grumps

_**Chapter 16:**_

_**Forest Grumps**_

"Kale, remind me again, how did we end up like this?"

The black-haired boy to whom the question was asked took another step back and mentally cursed for not looking up a better escape route earlier. After all, being pinned to a tree with no possible way to escape, didn't help his situation in the least.

"Could you?"

This time the question was asked sweetly, in a manner bordering on completely innocent to seducing-ly Lolita-esque. Truth to be told, Kale was sure that someone that didn't know him and the girl that was currently pinning him to the tree, would have made a lot of wrong conclusions. Indeed, the duo was in a quite compromising position, all alone in the thick woods, with no one but a dubiously sane guy who was currently rummaging through his green backpack around.

Whoever was out there that thought Kale was enjoying this, the young trainer would have gladly traded places with.

"Uhm, we, err, took a wrong turn somewhere?" finally answered the boy and put his hands in front of himself as a last line of protection. The little fire-monkey on top of his head mimicked the boy's actions and echoed his words in the Pokémon language.

"Wrong answer. Try again, Kale. Please…"

The trainer couldn't help but gulp as the blonde who was questioning him took yet another step forward- getting close enough that the tips of their noses almost bumped. Kale didn't blame his starter for jumping off his head and changing it with the safe position of Jed's shoulder. The boy blinked again in hope that the icy orbs that were piercing his widened hazel eyes would go away. Alas, no such thing happened and Kale decided it was better to tell the truth. He was in for the pain either way.

"I kinda let Jed buy the map."

"You left the matter of navigation inside a forest known for being dangerous to a complete nutcase." icily pointed out Viviane.

"Y'know, it doesn't sound so good when you put it that way," admitted Kale and flashed a sour grin in hope of getting away.

"Yeah, we're in for a rough night," shouted Jed while still waist deep into his mountain of a backpack. "If we even live to see the morning. Eterna Forest is known for being a deathtrap at night. Dangerous Pokémon running around, Ghost types going out hunting, not to mention a haunted mansion that no one has returned alive from."

"Not helping, dude!"

"What's worse- I've only one edible potato product left. This dee-licious sweet potato on a stick."

"You dare talk about your stupid potatoes when you're even more at fault than him?" finally snapped the female coordinator.

"Well, duh, Viv. I can't survive without potatoes," pointed out the oddly-dressed teen and wagged said potato-on-a-stick in the air.

Only for it to be snatched by a black blur that flew by and landed on a nearby tree. The thief swiftly put the tasty treat into his crooked beak and mockingly looked at Jed with his red eyes.

"Serves you right," smirked Viviane and crossed her arms. Chatot however, after popping out of his poke ball along with a terrified Munchlax who hid behind Kale, had a different opinion.

"Yay! He did _not_ just do that. Yay! Head for cover! Yay!"

"Oh yes," grunted Jed with uncharacteristic anger in his voice. "He DID!"

Jed let out a terrifying roar that shook the whole forest and ripped apart his red-and-orange jacket and purple undershirt with his bare hands. The frenzied teen lunged at the black-feathered bird and took the last few meters on all fours. After a nearly impossible jump the boy, landed right next to the Flying type whose feather crown resembled a witch's hat.

"_You_! You took the last potato! I swear upon the name of The Guys Who Protect Us From Werepsyduck, I shall take it back! Even if I have to rip it out of your dead body!"

The Murkrow barely managed to avoid a lightning fast fist that literally shattered the branch into toothpicks. Jed didn't stop however and jumped straight at the bushes where the thief had disappeared into. To everyone's surprise, another girl- this one Jed's age- came out of them just as the frenzied teen was about to land.

"My love!" shouted Jed in his normal voice upon seeing the redheaded newcomer only for him to have an unfortunate landing straight into the expecting knee of the girl. With his rather… sensitive area.

"Get away from me, you creep!"

"Rebecca?" Viviane exclaimed with surprise after getting a closer look at the older girl.

"Well, look who it is!" smirked the blonde's rival and flicked her waist-length ruby-red hair. "If it isn't little Vivi and her boy-toys posse! I watched your latest… performance on TV. Losing to Rico? Dear, and here I thought you couldn't fall any lower."

"Funny, I was thinking the same about you. And at least I have a posse," shot back Viviane.

"You could've said 'friends', y'know," mumbled quietly Kale.

"But! I already have a ribbon, dear Vivi, unlike you," sniggered the redhead and showed the prized token to everyone. "And as for the posse- I prefer traveling alone in the limo. Even more space for me."

"And where's this limo of yours now?" inquired the blonde.

"Oh, don't worry. We just had to take the forest road because our original route was under construction. But we blew a tire and I chased after one magnificent Murkrow- who your idiotic friend just chased away- to capture and pass time."

"The potato thief!" said Jed from where he was still lying on the ground in pain with all the anger a falsetto voice could possibly convey.

"And the way back is?" asked Viviane with a devious smile.

Rebecca bridled up again and was about to point at some direction behind her when her face fell along with her now trembling finger.

"Thought so," smirked the blonde.

"My kiwis!" whimpered Jed from the ground, still in falsetto.

* * *

A heavy silence had descended upon the misfit group as they walked aimlessly among the old and overgrown with moss trees. Viviane and Rebecca were both bridled up, looking in opposite directions and constantly trying to be a step ahead of each other. Kale, with Blace atop his shoulder, was trying to keep up with them and wondering whether to say something or not. Behind him was a topless Jed, still walking somewhat like a Krabby and flinching now and then. As the last signs of the sun disappeared behind the tops of the century old trees, Kale finally broke the silence.

"Soo, Viv… the forest's chock full of Pokémon. You gonna capture one like you told us this morning?"

"Haven't seen one that I like yet."

"How about a Combee?" asked the bespectacled boy in an attempt to keep the conversation going.

"Oh, please! I wouldn't _touch_ a Pokémon _she_ has," spat back the blonde. Her rival just scoffed.

"Then what about that Stunky over there?"

"Too ugly for contests," cut him off Viviane.

"A Starly?"

"You have one."

"That Budew?"

"Too wimpy."

"You'll never capture one at this rate!" protested Kale.

"Okay, okay!" barked back the blonde and punched the nearest tree in frustration. "I'll get the next one I see!"

At that moment, a bundle of leaves fell off the tree and hit the unfortunate coordinator right on the head. Ignoring Rebecca's laughter, Viviane glared at the creature that had dared harm her. Its cloak of leaves had fallen off and the Bug type was busy gathering them back as fast as possible. But upon seeing the icy orbs shooting daggers at it, the creature immediately forgot about the leaves and tried hightailing it out. Alas, Viviane's foot stomped on its tail and the blonde absent-mindedly checked its Pokédex entry (_Burmy, the Bag Worm Pokémon. To protect itself from the cold wind, Burmy uses leaves and branches to make a cloak around itself_) while the Bug type hopelessly tried wriggling away.

"Hold still, sweetie," the blonde said icily. "I did make a promise after all."

The poke ball hit the Burmy's head with a little more force than necessary.

"Wow, Blondielocks, what a way to start off the relationship with your new Pokémon," smirked Rebecca and flicked her hair.

"Shut it, Hollowhead," barked back the blonde and put the poke ball back in her bag.

"Hey, guys! I just found us a place to stay for the night!" suddenly exclaimed Jed.

"Where?" asked the others at the same time.

"There!" happily explained the teen.

The rest of the gang noticeably paled after looking at where he was pointing. The old mansion loomed ominously before them in the twilight and the front door constantly opened and closed ever so slightly with a chilling creek. A cool wind suddenly blew by and the old dirty curtains billowed out of the broken windows.

"Jed," finally managed to say Kale. "Insane doesn't even begin to describe this. This place is haunted! No one has returned from there to tell the tale!"

"If no one's gotten out alive, then how's the tale told then, eh?" asked an unfamiliar voice causing everyone to jump up.

"Hohohohahaha! My, sorry for startling you, kids," apologized the newcomer and wiped a tear out of his eye.

"The ghost of the haunted mansion!" shrieked Jed and moved Kale in front of Rebecca. "He'll protect you for me, my love!"

"Relax, kiddo," waved him off the aging man. "I'm the owner of this place, yes, but I don't know about the ghost and haunted parts. The Old Chateau has gotten quite dilapidated since I last saw it, tho," admitted the man and put his circular pink-colored glasses back on.

"You can call me Dr C. And if you want, you can stay here for the night. I'll show you the road out of Eterna Forest in the morning. I just came here to check up on this place before putting it on the market."

Seeing that the group of adolescents were still eyeing him with suspicion, Dr C ran a hand through his balding white hair.

"Hahahahohho! I understand, beware of the creepy old man and all that. Bah! I'm harmless! Besides, you probably have at least a few Pokémon with you. What can I do against them?"

The group huddled closer and after a minute or so of weighing the pros and cons of the offer, followed Dr C inside the Old Chateau.

* * *

"Everything set, guys?" asked Kale and unrolled his sleeping bag on the dusty floor.

His Pokémon squeaked, shrieked and gurgled affirmatively before proceeding to chow down on their food as if they hadn't been fed for months. Now inside the sleeping bag, the boy turned his back to the misfit trio just as Carnivine swatted away Staravia's wing from the Chimchar's food. Due to the obvious lack of electricity, they were using candles and the trainer soon let the crackling flames slowly take him to the land of blissful dreams.

From where he was lying, all Kale could see was the bottom of the nearby broken bed. Strange, he could swear that something under it was… looking back!

Kale jolted up with a terrified shout as a cackling black sphere surrounded by purple fumes flew out from under the bed. The Ghost type managed to escape the clutches of all of Kale's Pokémon and flew off in the cold night right through the wall.

"Phew," sighed the boy with relief. "Relax, guys. It was just some Gastly."

"Is everything okay, sir?"

"Yeah, yeah, I told you already. It was just some Gas-"

Terrified, the bespectacled boy slowly turned around and came face to face with a stern-looking, strictly-dressed butler, long graying staches and all. Bad thing was, the semi-transparent man disappeared from the waist down inside the bed.

If there had been any intact windows left in the chateau, the foursome's cries would have surely shattered them.

* * *

Viviane clutched her chest, breathless, and looked around in concern. The shouts had come from the boys' room and while it could have been false alert, the whole thing still seemed too fishy for the blonde to like. She didn't trust this Dr C in the least. Then again, until recently she had trusted no one but her team of Pokémon. As much as she didn't want to admit it, the wannabe Champion and the crazy loaf had grown on her.

"I think we should check up on them," said the girl to the Bug type on the table in front of her, who was now clad in a cloak of various trash gathered from inside the rundown building. Viviane had just managed to persuade the Burmy to eat from her hand and prove she didn't mean any harm to him. The Pokémon nodded in approval and the duo was about to head off when they heard a strange clicking sound.

The old creaky fan on the table was suddenly on and, with yellow electrical energy coating it, started sucking in the air. Burmy was swept off his stubby feet and would have surely ended up in pieces had Viviane not caught him on time. Alas, the fan just kept on sucking the air in and along with it, Burmy's cloak- part by part- as well. Viviane could feel her Pokémon slipping away from her fingers and let out a genuine shriek as he was finally yanked off her grasp, probably to end up as Bug type sushi splattered all across the room.

Fortunately, the black caterpillar managed to erect a green protective bubble around it on time and the fan was crushed when the Protect made contact with it. A blue lightning jolted out of it and disappeared straight through the nearby wall.

"Burmy, thank goodness, you're not going to end up as sushi," sighed the blonde in relief and picked up her naked partner with her trembling hands.

* * *

Rebecca looked warily around the corner before entering the rundown living room. The redhead carefully surveyed the various couches and sofas covered with dirty white sheets to make sure none of them were ghosts. After the coordinator had stormed out of the room she had to share with Viviane because of their latest argument, Rebecca had heard two blood-curdling shrieks. One was Viviane's, she was sure of that, and the other was probably one of her boy-toys'. Still, rivals until the end or not, the rich teen didn't want any harm coming to her fellow coordinator or her posse. Not to mention that meant leaving her all alone in this cursed place with that creepy Dr C and who knows what kind of ghosts roaming the halls of the Old Chateau. Heck, Rebecca would have preferred the company of that lunatic constantly drooling over her to no company at all. Shuddering at how low she had fallen, Rebecca cursed her decision to stomp out of the room in the first place. The girl's emerald eyes darted around in search of some exist from the creepy place.

"_Are you here to play with me?"_

Words couldn't describe what the redhead felt at that moment. With a face so pale one would mistake her for a ghost, Rebecca turned around, almost tempted to close her eyes and plead it all would end quickly, and looked around the room. It was as empty as ever, with only the moonlight parting the darkness as it entered through the broken windows.

"_Daddy said he'd bring friends to play with me. You are my friend right? We are going to play now, right? And we will be together forever and ever and ever!"_

Rebecca hastily looked around for the speaker but no terrifying poltergeist appeared before her. The teen's emerald eyes were caught by her reflection in the screen of the old TV- one that had been certainly all the rage back then and which currently had the moon-rays washing over it. Behind the redhead's reflection, one of absolute fear, stood a little girl- dressed festively and clutching a Teddiursa doll to her chest.

Rebecca's mind finally snapped and all she could do was watch as the reflection of the creepy girl in the TV screen tugged the teen's sleeve with her tiny hand and asked:

"_You will be my friend forever, right?"_

"DRIIIIIII!"

The blood-curdling shriek made Rebecca fall back and scream as an olive-green flying head shot out of the TV screen and darted around the room. The creature's red irises shone with mischief and its purple flame-like hair billowed in the unexciting wind as the Misdreavus flew away laughing and left behind an unconscious Rebecca.

* * *

The teen didn't bother covering his wide yawn and just sleepily scratched his bottom as he made his way to where the kitchen probably was. Jed wasn't even fazed as the old door fell of its pants when he opened it and, tugging down the cartoon pajamas he was getting too tall for, the boy with dirty-blond hair made his way to the refrigerator. An old, dusty, most certainly broken refrigerator that, if it had any milk, the chance was that it was a tad too old for the boy to drink. Not that Jed cared.

He opened the door with yet another yawn (the handlebar stayed in his hand) and rummaged through the smelly, decades-old contests for the tasty treat he was looking for, oblivious to the creature that was surveying his progress. After finding a carton of milk that dated from probably the time when his father had being just born, the teen made his way to the cupboards above the dirty sink (they didn't even have any doors) to look for a glass. The creature just kept on staring.

"Oh, hey there, Murkrow," absent-mindedly greeted the teen as he prepared to sip the milk in the glass. "MURKROW?"

"Krow-krow-krow!" laughed the black-feathered thief in his own language and took flight just as a swift karate chop split the table he had been standing on in two.

"Give! Me! Back! My! POTATO!" roared Jed and threw the cartoon of milk at the Dark type who flew through the broken window just in time- the carton ended up splattering on the wall and it's sizzling contests left a smoldering hall in it. Jed blinked and stared at the hole in the wall. Then blinked and stared some more.

"Man that must've been _really_ old milk," shrugged the teen and prepared to leave when he heard a loud clattering from behind him.

"What the Werepsydu-"

Jed didn't even have time to finish his sentence as the clattering refrigerator- which was suddenly orange in color and covered in an aura of purple energy- opened up its creaky door and sent each and every one of its contents that it had been storing for all these years in Jed's direction. The teen jumped and wriggled and danced around the makeshift projectiles that missed him by mere inches and crashed into the wall behind him, scorching it and leaving burn marks upon shattering and spilling their contests.

"Hah! Missed m-"

Jed was quickly silenced by a forty-year-old jar of pickles that nailed him straight into his private areas. Fortunately, the jar managed to stay intact. That however, didn't alleviate Jed's pain in the least.

"Why! Why does it have to be always… the kiwis?"

**TBC**


	17. Ghosts of Years Past

_**Chapter 17:**_

_**Ghosts of Years Past**_

"Do you think she's… y'know?" asked the bespectacled boy with a tinge of fear clearly evident in his voice.

"She's breathing, Kale. You blind or something? Or maybe you want to touch to be sure, hm?" answered Viviane with annoyance as she gesture towards the rising chest of the unconscious girl between them.

Yet another chilling gust of wind flew into the darkened living room through the long-broken windows. The torn and dirty curtains billowed ominously and their shadows danced on the moon-lit dusty floor like specters.

"Think we should wake her up or something?" pondered Kale and kneeled closer to the body of the redhead. The Chimchar on the boy's shoulder waved his hand in front of the unconscious girl's face.

"Why don't we tie her up, find McCrazy and sprint towards the exit?" suggested the blonde as her cerulean eyes surveyed the surroundings for the umpteenth time. "We can always leave her behind to stall any ghosts we encounter."

Viviane!" reprimanded her Kale and his hazel eyes bore into her sternly.

"Okay, okay!" waved him off the coordinator. "Sheesh, I was just joking anyway."

"And if I had agreed?" teased the spiky-haired boy.

"Well, not my fault that you'd be stupid enough to agree."

Just then, a loud clattering was heard from the hallway and a hunched shadowed silhouette appeared on the doorframe. The duo's Pokémon, who had been standing guard until now- Blace, Carnivine, Staravia and Burmy- lunged at the intruder and tackled him to the ground.

Whoever he was, he didn't put up much of a fight after disappearing from view under the volley of biting carnivorous plants, pecking angry birds, startled centipedes and scratching monkeys. Moments later, a flash of light burst out of the brawl and formed into a multicolored bird with a head shaped like a music note.

"Yay! Show him who's boss! Yay! Yeah, that's right- punch him in the face! Yay! Whip him good! Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark! Yay!"

"Chatot!" angrily whispered Kale, afraid of attracting even more attention after the noisy-beat down. "How can you cheer them on while they're beating him? Guys! Guys, stop it, that's just Jed!"

"Yay! Sorry! Kinda got in the brawling mood. Yay!"

The overprotective foursome finally stopped their onslaught of physical torment on varying levels and sheepishly moved away after realizing who they had been beating so badly. The tattered and bruised form of Jed lied on the ground, one arm at an unnatural angle and drool coming out of his mouth, and the teen could have been heard muttering something that sounded like 'watch out, Billy-Ray, the bluenette's got a gun'.

"Just great!" said Viviane and sighed with annoyance as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Now we have to deal with _two_ unconscious idiots. Now you want to dispose of Rebecca?"

Upon hearing the name of his eternal (or not so much, time- like all other things- worked kinda screwy and out of place for Jed) beloved, the teen jumped back on his feet like nothing had ever happened. Jed's silver eyes widened with utter horror evidenced in them after he saw the unconscious body of the redhead in front of him.

"Why? Oh, why did it have to be you, my beloved? It should've been me that drank that poisonous- but tasty and nutritious- potato juice!" cried out the teen with dirty-blonde hair.

His wailing however, managed to wake up Rebecca and Viviane's rival did so with a start, kicking the shadowy figure in front of her between the legs on instinct.

"Gosh dang it to heck, why?" whimpered one severely injured Jed in falsetto. "Oh, why does it have to be always the kiwis?"

"Something wrong here?" came the voice of the chateau's owner from outside in the hallway and his plump figure soon appeared on the doorframe. "Why are you all up so late? Is something wrong?"

"You bet it's wrong!" said Kale and pointed an accusing figure at the white-haired man as the four Pokémon took defensive positions around their owners. "You lied to us and trapped us into this haunted mansion!"

"I assure you, boy, I don't want to harm any of you," waved him off Dr C but annoyance was clearly evident in his voice. "What makes you think so?"

"Oh, we'll tell you what," joined in the conversation Viviane. "A possessed fan nearly made my Burmy into sushi!"

"There's a creepy ghost girl roaming the hallways! And something was inside the TV!" added Rebecca from where she was still lying on the ground.

"And your old family butler's apparently still doing his job. Undead!" said Kale and gestured around with his hands from emphasis.

"The refrigerator tried to kill me," whimpered the shaking Jed from the ground, still in falsetto. "And you need to restock on milk, too."

Dr C eyed the group of adolescents for a minute, as if wondering whether to believe them before breaking out in his hoarse grunting laugh that sounded oh-so-creepy to the kids.

"So that's what it is, huh? I think I know this ghost you are speaking off," said he and after finally walking closer, the group saw that he was still in the gray shorts and Hawaiian shirt they had first seen him in. Dr C rummaged through his pockets and a second later pulled out an old toy robot. Its sides were chipped off and one could easily tell that it had seen better years. The adolescents however, didn't know how to react when the man kneeled in front of the TV and presented the little robot to the screen.

"Oh, Rotom, look what I've got here!"

Nothing happening at first and the kids thought that the creepy old man was most certainly crazy. But then, a crackling noise was heard and the screen of the decade- old TV flared to live. A blue wisp of electricity shot out and headed towards the toy, only for Dr C to pull it out of its way in the last second.

"Ah-ah, Rotom. Introductions first. I think you have lost your manners after all these years," reprimanded Dr C and wagged his finger at the little levitating orange creature that had materialized from the blue bolt. "That, my young friends, is Rotom. A Pokémon I've known since I was even younger than you."

"A Pokémon?" gasped Kale and swiftly took out his blue Pokédex to scan the wisp-like creature.

"_Rotom, the Plasma Pokémon. Rotom plays practical jokes, which it carries out by embedding its plasma body in electronic devices.__"_

"Okay," sighed Viviane and pinched the bridge of her nose again. "So Rotom's behind the murder-by-fan attempt and the refrigerator accident. But what about the butler and the little girl?"

"Hohohoahaha! Great, deduction skills, dear," said the aged man and wiped a tear from behind his pink-colored glasses. "But you should know that Ghost type Pokémon are attracted to rundown and secluded places like this. Most often they defend their territory by scaring away intruders with spooky illusions and the like. I did not know that when I came here, but apparently a lot of other ghosts other than Rotom had made residence here."

"So they were just defending their territory?" asked Rebecca as she kept on dusting off her designer clothes with utmost care.

"Most certainly," confirmed Dr C. "But that is going to cause a little problem since I am going to sell this place. You have to find a new home as well, Rotom. Why don't you go to our old family house in Canalave?"

The electrical wisp shook its head in disagreement.

"Don't you want to go?"

Rotom nodded. Dr C scratched his chin in thought.

"What is the problem then?"

The Ghost type turned back into an arc of blue electricity and moved into the toy robot that was still in the old scientist's hand. The robot's little arm pointed at the empty space somewhere on the far end of the room. As if just waiting for the gesture, a dozen or so ethereal Pokémon of various shapes and sizes entered the darkened living room right through it. All the balls of gas, flying heads with detached hands and possessed dolls shrieked and hissed as they flew around the room in rage. One of them, a dark-greenish creature whose body was composed seemingly only of its head, headed towards Dr C and stopped a meter above the scientist's head.

"Mis-mis-vuuus! Misdriiii-vus!"

"Yay! The little miss says they aren't going to leave! This is their home now! Yay!" translated Chatot and then added "Yay! Chatot advises the creepy old man to agree! Otherwise we're in for some beating! Yay!"

"Nonsense!" nearly shouted Dr C. "I own this chateau and I am telling you that I am going to sell it! If you don't want to trek to Canalave along with Rotom, that is your problem."

"DRIIIII!"

The creature's angry shriek cracked what was left of the windows and her purple flame-like hair billowed around her head like a crown.

"I don't think they're going to listen, doc," shouted Kale in an attempt to communicate despite the Ghost type's waling. "Why don't you challenge her? It seems she's the leader!"

"That is good and all but I do not have any Pokémon on me," admitted the scientist and his expression showed that he was regretting not taking any. "And without something good to posses, Rotom won't be of any help either."

"I'll challenge her then," announced Viviane to the shocked group who were still covering their ears. Seeing that her victims weren't wriggling and trying to shut off the noise anymore, the Ghost type stopped her wailing. "You can easily see that she's a determined girl with a strong character. A Pokémon like that just has to be on my team!" said the blonde and scanned the levitating creature with her yellow Pokédex.

"_Misdreavus, the Screech Pokémon. Misdreavus loves being mischievous by pulling people's hair and shocking them.__"_

The coordinator's newly-acquired Burmy hung his head in sadness. The blonde noticed her Pokémon's action and was quick to cheer him up.

"Now don't you think things like that, Burmy! You're on my team and you're staying on it! Now go and show me what you've got. Let's catch that Misdreavus!"

The Bug type jumped forward with a determined expression and stared down at the Screech Pokémon, who just looked down on him with arrogance. Viviane scanned the latest addition to her team with her Pokédex.

"Now let's see what moves you know… Tackle and Protect?"

The Misdreavus took advantage of the blonde's shock and as the Bug types looked away in shame, conjured a sphere of black-purple energy and hurled it towards Burmy. He was sent flying without even knowing what had hit him and the Ghost type turned at Viviane and shot out a multicolored beam with her red eyes.

"Bur-MIII!"

Before the Psy Beam could make contact, a shocked Viviane realized that her nearly unconscious Pokémon had managed to erect a Protect around the both of them. Alas, the Misdreavus' force was too much for Burmy to handle and the barrier crumbled soon after, only for him to raise yet another green protective bubble. Even this one withered away almost immediately but the courageous Bug type didn't give up and conjured a Protect once more. Seeing that this force field was swiftly getting cracked and unstable as well, the other Pokémon were about to interfere but Burmy's determined shouts stopped them in their tracks.

"Mi! Bur-bur-burmy! Miii-burmiiiii!"

A blinding flash of light erupted from inside the green force field just as it crumbled and the ark of energy in all spectrums of the rainbow withered away before the all-consuming white that filled the room. When the light subsided, a black-colored moth with two pairs of yellow-orange wings was flying above where Burmy had been. The Misdreavus quickly gathered itself after the initial shock and was about to attack again but an ethereal blue glow, mirrored in the newly-evolved Bug type's orange eyes, surrounded her body and she was sent crashing into the roof, then into the floor, then back into the roof and so on and so forth.

While extremely surprised at first, Viviane was quick to react as always, and tossed a poke ball at the dazed Ghost type. The red-and-white sphere announced the capture of the weakened Pokémon soon after. After picking up the mechanical sphere, the blonde presented it to the flying Bug type.

"See? No need to be worried. This is all your doing. You won!"

The moth nodded cheerfully as his human partner scanned him with her Pokédex for the umpteenth time in the short time since they had met.

"_Mothim, the Moth Pokémon, and the evolved form of a male Burmy. It has no particular habitat, but instead flies across the land, searching for its favorite nectar.__"_

_

* * *

_

"Oh, Miss Rebecca, we are so glad you are safe!" said the bowing driver, seemingly on the verge of crying, before whimpering "Please do not mention this little accident to your father!"

"Humph! I will think about it on the way to Eterna," said the rich coordinator after bridling up even more, if that was actually possible, and flicked her waist-length ruby-red hair.

"What are you talking about? Hallowhead's the one that was dumb enough to get lost," protested Viviane but the driver paid no attention to her words and just glared at her.

The wind, now not feeling ominous in the least, blew by the group of adolescents and the eccentric old man assembled in front of the Old Chateau. Rebecca's limo had arrived out of nowhere, scratched and covered in mud, just as the group had been about to set out in the cheerful morning.

"I guess this is goodbye, my young friends," said Dr C just before breaking into his hoarse creepy laugh once again.

"And good riddance!" said the two coordinators with contempt at the same time. Noticing that they were mimicking each other, both of the girls turned their backs towards each other once more, their noses high up and arms crossed in front of their chests.

"I guess I can offer you a ride to Eterna City, but I'm not feeling like it," smirked the redhead and prepared for departure.

"And what if we help you catch that Murkrow you chased after earlier?" innocently asked the blonde.

"Oh yes, you'll catch a Pokémon that isn't even here just like that! Sure thing, catch it for me in the next few minutes and I'll give you a ride," sniggered Rebecca and flicked her hair yet again. "As if you can do that, Vivi."

"Not me," corrected her the blonde. "Him."

Rebecca looked in dislebief towhere her rival was pointing. Jed's nose was up in air, wriggling and sniffing and generally acting like a radar. The teen with dirty-blonde hair leered at the crown of a nearby tree and growled.

"The potato thief… is near!"

Before the others had even realized he had finished talking, the boy was climbing up the old oak like a Mankey. Seconds later, Jed had disappeared into the oak's crown and after a lot rustling and gawking noises, a black blur was thrown out and was embed by his crooked beak in the ground in front of Rebecca.

"There. Happy now?" smirked Viviane and pushed the redhead out of her way to enter the car. "And by the way, I call dibs on the window seat."

* * *

"You know, after all these years, I didn't want to believe it," sighed the aged man and put back the small glass bottle on the creaky desk covered in layers of dust. "I didn't want to believe that some trace of you, some bastardized version of your former selves still existed here. I heard the tales but… I guess I preferred to believe in illusions. But reality is painful, is it not, Alfred?"

The semi-transparent man standing next to the desk bowed his head in agreement and uttered the words he had repeated to absolute mastery while he had been still alive, long, long ago.

"Of course, sir. As always, you are right."

"Of course," mockingly echoed the scientist with a barely audible whisper and swiftly took another sip from the burning beverage in the tiny bottle. "I am right. As my father before me, as his father before him and as his father's father, I am right. Right like each and every member of this cursed family."

"Too long, Alfred, for far too long have I sailed the waters of Acheron. But it's high time I moved on, no? Yes," mumbled the balding man to himself and took another gulp "it is high time I left the river of pain behind. Lethe calls. Truth calls."

The man chuckled to himself as the ghost of a young festively clad girl passed by the door-less room in search of friends that were never to come.

"Oh, my dear little sister. Just as I remember her. Tiny. Innocent-looking. And oh, so devious!"

The scientist pinched the bridge of his nose and threw the now empty bottle away. Under the gentle sun-beams entering through the shattered windows, the web of wrinkles on his forehead was clearly evident, showing all the age behind the mask of a cheerful man not ready to say goodbye to his rapidly-fleeting youth.

"Shame on you, Alfred. She talked you into this, didn't she? That little lolita, for how long had she been planning this, I wonder? Right under our noses!"

The hoarse laugh of the grey-haired man filled the room but the prim and proper specter of the butler next to him stayed as still as ever.

"But how did she end up dead as well? Was she so tempted by the usual mountain of a cake she got for her birthdays and forgot about the poison? Oh, yes, Alfred, I know about the poison," laughed the scientist and tried patting the still unresponsive butler on the back. Only for his hand to go right through the ethereal body. The action acted somewhat like a shocker to the aging man and, his tired eyes now uncharacteristically serious, he sighed.

"Not that I care anyway. I hated them all. You included, for being that spineless Slugma that obeyed every word uttered by that tyrant that was supposed to pass as my father. I wonder if he ever knew how I felt about him, with him buying everything I didn't even want and all that."

The ghost of the girl passed by once again and the aged inheritor of the Old Chateau ran a hand through his greasy hair.

"And that hag that married him for his money? You knew her, Alfred, she couldn't wait for father to kick the bucket so she could get everything all for herself. I just can't describe you how satisfied I felt back then, knowing that me and that vamp of a sister I had stood in the way of her money. Not that the vamp was any better. 'So smart for her age,' father always said. Oh yes, smart enough to know the value of money. Smart enough to want them sooner rather than later. And who would have suspected a little girl? True, no one but the ones that lived here knew of her 'animal loving' habits. But you two made sure no one could talk, right?"

"I never thought I would have been happy to go on a vacation with those smug snobs I went to school with. She was furious when she learned I wasn't attending, right? Oh, I can just picture her face! But no sense dwelling on the past. What's done is done. Sometimes I wonder, would I have done the same if not for Rotom? Probably."

The scientist stood up and looked in the empty semi-transparent eyes of the ghost butler.

"I can promise you one thing, Alfred. I don't know why you and she are here now. Unfinished business, guilt, I don't care. If I could, I'd send you to boil beneath Styx's waters… but since I can't, I'll settle for finding a way of banishing you forever."

A ringtone of a mobile, sounding so out of place in the dilapidated chateau, filled the air in the sunny room. The old man took it out of his pocket immediately and a wide smile appeared on his tired face when the person on the other end of the line spoke.

"Yes. Yes, everything is in order. Who knew a little kid could find something so priceless while playing in the back yard of his average family mansion?" laughed the man and ran a hand through the cold surface of the prolonged hexagonal plate colored bright viridian, which was lying on the desk.

"I made the needed arrangements. I'm ready to come whenever you say. The money may be already in the back accounts you provided me with, but the Bug Plate is going to be delivered personally by me. As a new employee I have to make good impression on my first day of work, no?"

The speaker on the other side said something that seemed to genuinely amuse the aged scientist.

"Oh, Miss Mars, tell this boss of yours to rest assured. I was one of the people behind the Master Ball. I can make his magical leash without problems."

**TBC**


	18. A Different Kind of Hero

AN: I'd like to point out, this chapter was thought of some time ago, since I'm always planning several chaps ahead, and if the last few scenes or the chap as a whole disturbs someone, I'm sorry. It's all a coincidence. Also, I waited until it was the 12th where I am to post this. Aladar out.

* * *

_**Chapter 18:**_

_**A Different Kind of Hero**_

"Once again, thank you for coming," said the formally dressed man in his usual emotionless voice used for his business meetings. And, truth to be told, for almost any other conversation the man had ever had, actually. He bowed his head a little in the direction of the redhead in front of him and the usually stoic boy found himself fighting to suppress an unwanted laugh upon getting a better view of the dark blue hair stylized in two ridiculous curved horns of his interlocutor. "Having the rare chance of examining fossil-revived Pokémon can, and most certainly will, prove of great use to harnessing the inner power of Pokémon for energy."

"My parents are glad to help you with your project," said the preteen, forcing his stoic voice and stern face back to their normal condition- not an easy task considering the weird hairdo of the man behind the other side of the desk in the sun-filled office. "You have sponsored many of their own projects, including the fossil revival one, and you have helped the Oreburgh Museum quite a few times. They felt it was only natural to repay a debt or two this way."

"But still," dragged out the blue-haired CEO and put the tips of his finger together, as if deep in thought. "Letting us examine those two marvelous specimens some more, in our better… suited facilities for a month or two may prove the last piece of our much needed breakthrough puzzle. I'm sure your parents would-"

"I already talked with them about this," cut him off the redheaded boy, whose Staraptor-like, albeit quite smaller, fringe the blue-haired man himself found amusing. "One of the Pokémon isn't even mine and both of them are still new to this world. I have to begin training immediately if mine is to be of any use in any upcoming gym matches and the Sinnoh League."

"I… understand," sighed the CEO and after getting up from his place along with Nigel, reached the glass door before him and held it open. "But remember, if you happen to change your mind or you and your parents stumble upon any other fossils, I would like for them to be delivered straight to us."

Nigel replied with just a short nod and hurried to leave the CEO's office. Something in the blue-haired man's voice and mannerisms showed the young trainer that the adult most certainly didn't understand, and would have liked nothing more than to have the two revived Pokémon right then and there. As he descended down the escalator, the redhead ran a hand, somewhat nervously, through the several pairs of miniature poke balls attached to his belt. His fingers spent a few more seconds than necessary making sure that the last two in the line were still there. The stoic trainer couldn't help but ask himself what in the man's strict but formal and polite behavior had made him so cautious. Something felt off about the whole place and after pretending he was very interested in the clattering chain attached to his black jeans and sneaking a glance back, at least Nigel's suspicion that the man was still looking at him through the office's glass wall was confirmed.

The echo of the trainer's steps merged with that of dozens upon dozens of others marching beneath the glass canopy of the Galactic Eterna Building. There were many ordinary people among the crowd of scientists in their stained lab coats and corporate pushovers clad in their pristine suites. But somehow, the casual clothing of the guests touring the building didn't contrast with the people actually working there and just added to the colorful cacophony.

Tours.

Nigel once again sniggered after passing by yet another of the groups led by one of the young women serving as guides that were probably manufactured by the dozen. The leading supplier of energy in Sinnoh took pride in their 'open policy' and allowed ordinary people to see how the headquarters of the company on this side of Mt Coronet worked on certain days of the week. The young trainer barely managed to resist yet another laugh that would have been at the expense of the people blindly believing Galactic. Any person with half a brain knew that anyone trying to be so open to the public was probably hiding a lot of secrets, the boy thought. Who knew what was happening inside Galactic HQ behind closed doors even at that very moment?

Nigel shook his head in a vain attempt to push out such unimportant thoughts out of his head and, hopefully, focus on a new training regimen that included his newly acquired Shieldon. The boy was already nearing the sliding glass doors beyond which was the elevator that would have taken him away from that strange place, so careful at hiding its secrets, when the Universe decided that spending his day training, or anything else normal for that matter, wasn't part of Nigel's karma on that particular day.

All hell seemingly broke loose as the elevator doors were blow open and from different staff entries scattered around the top floor entered dozens upon dozens of ridiculously dressed men and women, all of them either relatives or wearing short identical cyan-colored wigs. Nigel berated himself at the sudden urge to laugh out loud, something must have been wrong with him- it was for the third time in less than half an hour, at the spacemen and his hand rushed to the red-and-white spheres on his belt. Alas, his fingers didn't even get to touch the metallic surface of the Pokémon containers- an awful screeching sound, similar to three dozens of Purugly filing their nails on a blackboard, invaded his head. In a myriad of white flashes, a large group of Zubat and Golbat had appeared and had immediately used their horrible voices to subdue and disorient the crowd.

"Goddamned bats! If you not stop, 8 Ball fry you for dinner will!" roared someone from among the cringing crowd. Nigel, along with many others, soon discovered that the speaker was a large man with a shaved head and the look of a member of a biker gang. Even in the dire situation, the redheaded trainer noticed many people whispering and pointing at the man- the boy vaguely recalled that the roughneck was part of some famous band or something. Not that it would matter to those ridiculous, but probably dangerous, spacemen wannabes, the boy thought. A thought that was proven correct seconds later by the man with long light blue hair adorned with yellow streaks that entered the room.

"Mr. 8 Ball," began the man, who Nigel noticed was dressed somewhat differently than the other attackers- mostly in white, "I would be very glad if you refrain from insulting such hardworking creatures."

With a snap of his fingers, all the blue-and-purple bats halted their vocal onslaught and a single Golbat, one of the bigger ones, headed towards the newcomer. Neptune put his hand on top of the vicious creature's head and patted him a few times, all the while not moving his cerulean eyes away from the rebellious roughneck.

"You see, they have been labeled freaks only for their high-pitched voices that our fragile human ears just fail to comprehend. You see, Mr. 8 Ball, sir, this is discrimination on our part and the fault is, as always, our own."

"What is the meaning of this?"

The redheaded trainer jerked his head at the direction of the shout, along with all the other people taken hostage, only for his eyes to come upon the CEO of Galactic, who had came nearly running down the escalator with an expression of pure anger on his face.

"Would you like me to elaborate?" asked Neptune with a mocking smile and added "But I must inform you that you are not making the best first impression here, sir, Mr. 8 Ball and I were just having a deep, meaningful conversation.

"I'm not talking about your stupid bats!" roared the blue-haired man. "What do you want with my company?"

"Well, sir, you see," said the leader of the spacemen and pointed to the stylized golden 'G' adorning the front of his uniform. "We are the part of Galactic that thinks we can do much, much more with the technology we have in our possession. How do I put it… oh, yes. It is high time we used all the energy we produce in a more... modern way. And guess what, sir? All your employees think that taking over the company _is_ all the rage."

"What? This is outrageous!" shouted the CEO and tried struggling in vain as the guards of his own company grabbed him by the sides and hauled the kicking man over the leader of the self-proclaimed 'Team Galactic'.

The sound of mocking clapping echoed inside the spacious lobby. A man dressed in a trenchcoat made seemingly out of expensive leather came forward, unconcerned about the numerous grunts glaring at him and the dozens of flying bags of poison that bared their fangs at him.

"Just… bravo! They should give you two a University Award. You've got the Edgars in the bag!" mockingly congratulated the man with sandy-blonde hair that reached down to his shoulders. "And how many times did you practice the act, if I may ask, oh great actors?"

"Good sir, when one strikes up a conversation, it is only natural to introduce yourself first before asking any questions," pointed out the leader of the Galactics as courteously as ever, but Nigel could recognize the tinge of annoyance and anger in the man's voice.

"Well, how should I put this, my villainous yet unrealistically polite friend?" pondered the man with the trenchcoat and carefully examined the Charizard figurine on the tip of his alabaster cane, as if it had the answer to the question. "My colleagues would normally say that you are all under arrest and all that jazz but I prefer to get straight to the point."

The man swiftly took off his trenchcoat to reveal the expensive-looking white shirt underneath, with pompous frills adorning the end of its sleeves.

"Talk about easy-ing my job," he mumbled to himself before announcing loud enough for everyone to hear "Norrington. Julian Norrington of the International Police. I was here to investigate a thing or two but lookie here! Someone just removed the need for that completely. You can say…"

The crowd gasped as the alabaster cane of Norrington found itself embed into the wall just behind the Galactics' leader, after a fling so fast and strong that none of them even saw. The hollowed body of cane had passed straight though the blue-haired man's now disheveled long hair and all eyes focused on the slim blade in Julian's hands, which he held by the handle in the form of a roaring Charizard.

"You can say that I was here to chew some bubblegum. But guess what? I've only a can of whoop-ass left."

"8 Ball badass guy his approval gives!" suddenly roared the roughneck among the stunned crowd.

"Why thank you," smirked Julian. "I think 8 Ball should lead the civilians here to the roof and then down through the emergency stairs- the elevator and all other exists here are kind jammed.

A beat passed.

"8 Ball people save will! Follow 8 Ball, people!" bellowed the roughneck and after picking up the grunt nearest to him like he was a feather, tossed him at another group of his stunned colleagues. With no better option, Nigel followed the crowd that ran after the hulking man, but he had the eerie feeling that the Galactic leader had pointed at him when he had whispered something to the nearest pair of grunts.

* * *

Up endless flights of stairs, down long corridors and into yet another room that they had taken a wrong turn into- the group of men, women and children followed the roughneck without question as the brute took down locked doors in the blink of an eye. They seemed to be finally on the right way and could see one last staircase going up at the end of the corridor, when heavy, black, all-consuming smog shut off all their senses and invaded their lungs. An arrogant voice came from somewhere beyond the veil of gaseous darkness.

"We won't hurt you if you all give up and give us your Pokémon. Oh, and that red-haired kid has to give us those special ones, too."

The coughing trainer cringed as his fear that the crooks knew of his precious cargo was confirmed. His shaking hand anxiously tried to find its way to the poke balls on his belt but before he could do it, Nigel felt something slashing across him. He heard the opening mechanism of the poke ball getting broken.

"Nah-ah!" mockingly berated him the voice. "Seviper can see inside the smoke. No funny stuff. Now hand them over!"

"You… want them?" barely managed to wheeze the redhead between his fit of coughs. "Then come and get them! Shieldon, Ancient Power! Cranidos, Zen Headbutt!"

Twin flashes of white appeared inside the veil of smoke and seconds later, large chunks of the walls were torn off and, coated with yellowish energy, circled around the small ceratopsian inside the smoke, scattering it, before being hurled forward at where the attackers were supposed to be. The other creature that had appeared, a bipedal grey-and-blue dinosaur with a dome-like head, hesitated whether to obey but upon seeing the situation, rammed his now pink-purple glowing head into the nearby Seviper.

"8 Ball! You lead the others out! I'll follow in a minute or two! They think they are strong in a group, but alone? They're pathetic!"

The hulking man nodded at the much smaller preteen and with a grunt motioned to the others to follow him up to safety. Nigel took several deep breaths to clear his lungs from the smoke and stared down the grunt with the cyan wig in front of him.

"Not so tough now that you're all alone, huh? Shieldon, use Iron Head! Cranidos, I know you're not mine, but it's for the best if you listen to me this time. Zen Headbutt again!"

The two fossil Pokémon nodded and, with both their sturdy heads glowing respectively white and lavender, lunged forward to finish of the still-dazed Seviper sprawled on the cold floor tiles.

"Draco, now!" shouted the Galactic grunt.

A nearby door was ripped off its hinges by the white bipedal feline that shot out of the room. The creature's three long claws glowed light blue and left a shimmering trail in the air behind as he lunged towards the attacking duo. The still inexperienced Pokémon were taken by surprise and after being both shoved away from the Seviper, Cranidos was hoisted up by the newcomer and had one of his glowing claws rammed straight into the little dino's gut. Shieldon turned around to help his friend but a glowing pike-like tail rammed into his unprotected side and sent him flying. The feral feline jumped onto him next and rammed a glowing claw right into his sturdy oval steel mask. Seeing both Pokémon pass out after a single hit or two, Nigel couldn't help but be surprised, no matter how much he didn't want to show it.

"With one hit? Even Shieldon with his defenses? How?" demanded to know the redhead. Another grunt walked out of the room from where the Zangoose had come out of and, all bridled up, proceeded to explain.

"Swords Dance. During the whole time since the Smoke Screen was issued. Swapping them for the battle was genius, Vlad! Your plan worked perfectly," the newcomer congratulated his colleague.

"Seeing your reactions," smirked Nigel and recalled the passed-out ancient duo. "I don't think you get to win very often, right?" seeing the grunts glare at him put the arrogant smile back on the redhead's face. "Normally I wouldn't to this, but since I'm in a hurry here, I will. Congrats, guys, you get the special treatment! Gible, I choose you!"

In the familiar flash of white, a small bipedal creature, much of whose small body was mainly his head, appeared and bared several rows of sharp fangs at the much larger Zangoose and Seviper facing him.

"You beat two rookies. Big deal. Let's see you handling someone with a whole year worth of training."

"Oh, you're in for it now!" bellowed Vlad. "Seviper, Smoke Screen again! Zangoose, make it a quick loss for him with Crush Claw!"

The two rivaling Pokémon obeyed and after his snake-like colleague had exhaled another sizeable amount of black smog around their opponent, the feral feline dived right into it, claws aglow, and with the intent of finishing the fight before it had even started.

"Like that's gonna work a second time!" smirked Nigel. "Gible, use Dig!"

"In a building?" exclaimed Draco with shock.

"Oh, he'll manage," replied the redhead with an arrogant smile just as the small dragon shot out of the floor right beneath Seviper and sent him flying back with a vicious uppercut. Zangoose's acute hearing helped him realize his prey had left the cloud of smoke and jumped out of it, ready to tear his much smaller foe apart.

"Dragon Claw! Show him what real power feels like!"

The petite dragon's own glowing claw clashed with his opponent's, but thanks to all the Swords Dances, the white ferret managed to push his opponent back and put Gible on the verge of buckling his tiny knees. Nigel just surveyed the battle stoically and dragged out with an annoyed and stern voice:

"Gible!"

The little dragon's large eyes looked down upon hearing the disappointment in his trainer's voice but then, with a roar worthy of his dragon lineage, pushed his opponent's claw into the ground and proceeded to bash his skull with his free, glowing claw. A pillar of fire rammed into the dark blue dragonling and forced him to move away from the fallen Zangoose, but the attack was quickly shrugged off.

"What!" exclaimed Draco and pointed accusingly at Nigel. "But that was Seviper's strongest move!"

"Show's how strong you strongest is," smirked the redhead.

"Bah, that thing's just a Dragon type. They resist almost everything, remember? But guess what? They're super-weak against ice! Zangoose, Ice Beam!"

Nigel felt bad for being taken aback by his opponent calling out that move out of every other one possible. The blue bolts of energy rammed into his just as surprised Pokémon and frost started to cover his tiny blue body. Upon being commanded to, the Seviper jumped into the fray as well, slashing at the dragonling with his glowing poisonous tail over and over again. If some kind of a concerned thought had passed the redhead's mind, he didn't show it.

"Gible, get up! We're going to face Ice types in the League, you have to learn to overcome this weakness. We haven't trained for this but I _know_ you can kick their butts no problem. So get up and show them what it means to deal with a real dragon! Dragon Rush!"

The dark blue dragonling, still shivering under the low-temperature onslaught, glanced at the stern eyes of his trainer and after a determined nod, released a bright blue aura from his body. The ice was melted or blown away, along with the Seviper that was nearby. With a fearsome roar and still coated in blue energy, Gible rushed right into the way of the Ice Beam, pushing it back all the way to its originator, and sent Zangoose flying right into the far wall.

The petite Dragon type tried to hide his panting from his trainer as both of them watched the now-scared goons recalling their Pokémon and running frantically away, after swearing revenge, of course. Nigel recalled his injured true starter with the barest of nods.

* * *

"Go, Happiny! 8 Ball do it you can knows!"

Alas, the cheering of the famous roughneck was in vain, because just as the petite pink blob of happiness threw away the last of the Golbat after a vicious spin, a yellowish beam of energy sent it flying and embed it into the door leading down into the bulding. The crowd hiding behind 8 Ball gasped in fear just as Nigel came running onto the roof.

The redhead frowned upon seeing the situation. There had been apparently an ambush waiting for anyone trying to escape through there. And while all the members of the Zubat evolution family he could see were down for the count and being recalled by the dozen or so grunts present, a large fat grey-and-white feline was smirking triumphantly right at him. The Purugly bared her sharp teeth at the young trainer and leered ominously. A pervasive purr escaped the feline's lips as her owner- a redhead dressed differently from the average Galactic grunt, scratched her between the curved ears and shot a feral glance at the newcomer herself.

"Well, look what we have here, Purugly, dear," giggled the woman in an awful high-pitched voice. "I guess since no one had managed to stop you, it's up to us to take those revived Pokémon. I'd normally suggest you hand them over and leave ASAP but today," the woman shut her eyes and turned her face up, letting the gentle sun-beams stroke her skin. "today I'm feeling up for some excitement. We're gonna battle, brat, like it or not!"

"8 Ball sorry is, kid. Door to emergency stairs closed. 8 Ball open it couldn't with no one for back cover," apologized to Nigel the hulking brute in an uncharacteristically small voice.

"Well, you better get down to cracking it open," smirked Nigel and stared down his fellow redhead. "Cause your 'back cover' is right here."

"Excellent," purred the woman and licked her ruby lips for a fraction of the second. "I like them feisty."

"Careful," shot back the young trainer and tossed a poke ball high in the air. "You might find me too hot to handle."

The light materialized into a small green-and-brown turtle like creature with a single twig growing atop his head. Turtwig glared at his much larger opponent and, despite the Purugly leering hungrily at him, the tortoise-like Pokémon let out a low growl and took battle stations. A nagging thought that had been bugging Nigel since all that strange take-over had started finally managed to make its way to the boy's mind as he surveyed the nearly hopeless scene.

He had only one Pokémon capable of battling. Onix couldn't even be called out with that broken poke ball, Shieldon and Cranidos were out and Gible, while the petite dragon would never admit it, was way too injured by the previous battle to fight. So that left him only with Turtwig. The young trainer didn't know how many Pokémon his opponent had. And even if she had only the Purugly, she was apparently capable of knocking out a strong Pokémon with a single Hyper Beam. No matter how weak the Zubat and Golbat were- no Pokémon could have taken so much of them without being something.

And then there was the fact that the crazy woman probably wouldn't stop just at winning. And even if he beat her, she and all the grunts could just jump at him and Turtwig would have been too tired to fight back even against a human. If their mutual plan worked, 8 Ball would have lead the people to safety during Nigel's battle, effectively leaving him all alone against more than a dozens of enemies who didn't follow any rules. The young trainer briefly considered ordering Turtwig to attack the woman directly but dismissed the thought quickly- that would have left him open to an attack by her Purugly. And while Turtwig would have stopped just at knocking her out, Nigel knew that was not the case with his feral foe.

Well, he had always wanted to prove himself in a battle against all odds. He just never even dared to think that of all wagers possible, his life would be the thing on the line. Then again…

Nigel's fists tightened and the smirk came back to his face. The boy's red eyes bore into the woman's crimson ones.

"Like a bunch of punks in stupid outfits can even pose a threat to the future Champion of Sinnoh," said the trainer out loud and pointed at his glaring foe. "You may have met many with the same dream as me, witch, but guess what? It ain't a dream in my case, it's a goal, a goal that I'm going to fulfill. Because I don't just talk the talk."

The boy's Turtwig flashed an arrogant grin of his own and leaned back, ready to lunge forward at any given moment.

"I walk the walk! Turtwig, Bite!"

The petite tortoise bolted at his much larger opponent and after jumping over her, took hold of the curved tail in his strong jaws and with power stunning for a Pokémon so small, flipped over the hulking feline and plastered her on glass ceiling of the building. The Galactic grunts gasped as their Commander's main battler was overpowered by a foe several times smaller than her. Nigel didn't wait and used his opponent's shock to his advantage.

"Hey, 8 Ball… show that door whose boss!"

The, stunned as everybody present, roughneck gave a curt nod in understanding after several seconds of silence. The hulking man turned around and eyed the steel double-doors, lined on both sides with tight hinges, made as if to laugh in the face of any mortal man who even dared to think of overpowering the sheer strength of metal.

8 Ball looked back at the dozens of scared people, some of them families with children who had come to tour the building on this unfortunate day, and then at the young trainer who knowingly put his life on the line for complete strangers.

"AAAARGGHHH!"

Even the Pokémon halted at the roar of the man, the roar of _a_ man, a human like all others, who dared challenge the cold might of Earth's tempered bones. Swat trickled down the scrunched face of the roughneck as his fingers fought an unequal battle with the metal. A useless battle, most would have said.

But as blood dripped from the wounds on the man's fingers, as the will of a single man overrode one of the toughest children of Mother Nature, a loud creaking sound filled the still air in the otherwise sunny and cheerful day. Metal budged and steel was twisted as, with one last roar, 8 Ball ripped apart the double-doors and the cheering crowd pushed him down the stairs, to safety and rest.

"8 Ball knows kid idiots' butts kick will! Of badassery, 8 Ball approve does!"

"Stop them, Purugly! Shadow Ball!" shrieked the Galactic Commander upon realizing that the majority of her prey was escaping.

"Stop her from powering up, Turtwig! Razor Leaf!"

The grey-and-white feline had just started gathering black-purplish energy in front of her gaping mouth when the small Grass type slid right beneath her and after turning back, sent a volley of razor-sharp leaves right into the sphere of energy. The Shadow Ball was quickly overloaded and after exploding in the Normal type's face, sent her flying back a few meters.

"Stupid brat!" howled Mars and furiously pointed at the critter that had somehow managed to injure her main battler yet again. "Enough lollygagging! Purugly, Shadow Claw! Tear him apart!"

The feline lunged forward with a feral growl but before her eerie glowing claw could make contact, Nigel had ordered a Withdraw. The black-purplish energy scattered away as the ghostly claw made contact with the hard shell Turtwig had retreated in.

"Mega Drain!"

Purugly didn't have any time to react as her opponent went out of his shell in a mere second and immediately green whips of energy were shot out of the glowing leaves on his head. The energy-sucking tentacles ensnared the cat-like Pokémon's whole body and soon her life-force had started withering away and being transferred towards Turtwig.

"While she's close! Razor Leaf!"

With a triumphant growl, the Grass type swung around his head and another barrage of knife-like leaves shot out of the twig adorning his head. The attack at point-blank range pushed the weakened Normal type back and, finally, her legs gave out as she collapsed panting on the glass ceiling. The last attack had opened wide gaping wounds across her whole upper body and by all accounts, she was down for the count.

"HYPER BEAM!"

Nigel thought that the hysterical shout of the woman would be in vain, that no Pokémon could find the strength for a Hyper Beam after that kind of a beating. Alas, before he or his partner could react, yellowish energy had gathered in the still lying Purugly's mouth. The beam tore apart the warm morning air and headed right towards Turtwig, who could only stare like a Stantler caught in the headlights. The force of the impact cracked the bulletproof, centimeters wide glass that served as the building's roof. A scorched and injured Turtwig skidded to a halt in front of his trainer's feet.

"What's wrong, little boy? Scared now?" let out a high-pitched laugh the Galactic Commander. "Purugly, Shadow Claw! Make him pay! Break the shell of that thing if you have to!"

Ignoring her fresh wounds, the victorious Normal type found strength in winning and her master's approval and swiftly reached her victim. The black-purplish glow of her claws scorched even more the injured starter as the feral feline slashed at him.

"Aren't you going to recall your little friend, boy?" goaded Mars. "Aren't you going to protect him with your own body?"

"What's the point?" said Nigel with a voice as emotionless as ever, his eyes hidden behind his fringe. "He failed."

The Turtwig's eyes widened at hearing the trainer he so wanted to impress, the one that had picked him as his starter, dismiss him as useless and a failure. What struggle the Grass type had put up until then, he abandoned it, letting the frenzied Purugly slash at him with one Shadow Claw after another at will.

"And he's _still _failing to realize…. he doesn't need _me_ to help him now."

Turtwig's eyes, widened by shock and pain that had repeated over and over again, searched for the red ones of his trainer, searched for any explanation that could be given for the boy's strange words. Finally, Nigel returned his look for a second before smirking at Mars.

"Turtwig doesn't need any of this friendship nonsense other trainers sprout."

A shocked Purugly found her glowing claw blocked by the very head of the Grass type that had disobediently stood up.

"I know him. I know that no flimsy Hyper Beam like yours can even touch him."

The feline found the increasing resistance worrying as her nails failed to break through the steel-hard determination of her much smaller opponent, who kept fighting to stand up on his stubby legs.

"I have trained him and I have seen his growth."

The leaves of the twig atop the Grass types' head started glowing a bright white and as the brave little tortoise finally stood up, Purugly found herself having to stand up on her hind legs in hopes of pushing him back down.

"Turtwig doesn't need someone to shout hotblooded gibberish and cheer him on. Because I know Turtwig. My starter is strong enough to wipe the floor with you. He had just… forgotten about it."

The glow finally engulfed the whole body of the Grass type and Purugly was forced down on her bottom as the foe she was trying to push down grew to a size the same as hers and let out a determined battle cry when the glow of his body finally subsided.

Green energy whips, half a dozen more than the previous ones, shot out of the twin bushes that were now growing on the creature's tempered orange shell. The viridian tentacles caught their terrified prey in a tight grip and one could almost see the Purugly wither away as the energy was transferred out of her. The gaping wounds on the feline's body opened even wider and she failed to do anything to retaliate, despite her trainer's hysterical shouts.

"Gro-gro-GROTLE!"

The newly-evolved Pokémon let out one last roar as he stood up on his hind legs and towered over the injured opponent. The sheer force of crashing his front legs on top of her sent a cobweb of cracks across the whole glass canopy beneath them, the shockwave that followed reducing it all to millions upon millions of crystals that exploded outwards and let the battling duo fall down among the rain of shattered glass. Two red beams crossed each other as the battling trainers recalled their Pokémon mid-fall, one unconscious and one- victorious.

"Well, well, well… beaten by a kid again, Mars?" came a voice from somewhere behind the Galactic Commander and Nigel soon found out that it belonged to a woman seemingly the same age as his first opponent, with a purple hair stylized in a ridiculous topknot. And clothing that differed from the other grunts as well. Probably another higher-up, deducted the young trainer.

"Shut it, Jupiter. Like you would've won! He took me by surprise!"

"Don't they always?" mockingly asked the other woman and shoved her furious colleague out of her way to the other side of the concrete part of the roof. "Props to beating her, kid. But trust me, you won't find me easy to beat."

The purple-haired Commander tossed up a poke ball of her own and the burst of light revealed a dark-purple hulking skunk, with a fluffy, and quite stinky, striped tail that curved all the way to her head. Nigel just looked at the eyes of the leering Skuntank, then at the metallic sphere in his own hand, before smirking at Jupiter. The mocking echo didn't go unnoticed by the woman.

"Don't they always say that?"

* * *

"This is getting quite repetitive, y'know," smirked the International Police officer and yawned forcedly as he rested the saber across his shoulders. "Maybe you should try rushing in all at the same time, I don't know. Careful not to bump into each other, though."

The grunts that had encircled the man hesitated for a second or two before taking several steps back. Julian removed a sweaty lock of sandy-blond hair from in front of his eyes before laughing.

"You're kinda rushing in the wrong direction, y'know."

"Poison?" asked the Galactic leader, who was still at his place at the entrance of the spacious lobby. The man with long blue-hair casually surveyed the pile of bodies in front of Norrington, his icy blue eyes twinkling with nothing more than jusy professional curiosity and a complete absence of concern for his underlings.

"Sedative," replied Julian with a shrug and twirled the blade around in his hands. "The higher-ups kinda prefer having living prisoners to question. A drop from what that blade here was coated in can take down a Dragon type with ease. They'll be out for a looong time."

"Sir, why don't we attack with our Pokémon? That would've been much-"

"Shut it, grunt," cut him off the Commander, as emotionlessly as ever. Neptune walked over to where the hollow cane had embed itself into the wall and took it out with one swing.

"Everyone, split in groups of two, take a couple of Pokémon each and just follow the plan," ordered Neptune and fixing his cold blue eyes on Julian's. "I'll deal with our guest here."

"Wow. I'm shivering in my super-expensive shoes," deadpanned the police officer.

"You know, I knew a Julian Norrington once," pointed out the Galactic Commander.

"No kidding. And he owed you money, right?"

"No," dragged out Neptune before lunging at his foe, alabaster cane high above his head "but I don't bear fond memories of him either."

Norrington laughed at seeing the foolish head-on attack of the man and his even more pathetic stance. The officer was already congratulating himself for a job well-done as he thrust forward the slim blade with the intention of cutting the man's arm and letting the sedative do the rest. Alas, Julian's surprise was enough to make him widen his eyes and nearly gasp as the seemingly clumsy and overconfident Neptune shifted the cane in his hand and met the blade with its hallowed inside. The sword went right back into the scabbard and the blue-haired man's free hand took hold of the officer's one on the handle.

"Floatzel, finish him! Ice Fang!" ordered the Galactic Commander sternly and made sure his opponent couldn't move.

A bright flash erupted from Neptune's belt and formed into a large orange weasel-like Pokémon with a life-sac draped around her neck like a boa-scarf. Floatzel bared her energy-charged fangs and lunged at her master's enemy, ready to sink the sharp teeth into the victim's neck and be done with it before it had even began.

Somehow managing to regain his composure on time, Julian yanked one of his hands free and swiped it at the feral Pokémon in a seemingly vain attempt to defend himself.

"Sandstorm, now!"

It was as if time had stopped right then and there, save for the miniature poke ball that was shot out from one of the large silver rings shaped like Pokémon heads, on Julian's fingers. The red-and-white sphere enlarged mid-air and, right in front of the stunned weasel's face, burst open.

The effect was like unleashing the Sands of Time themselves. Everything seemed to happen too fast for anyone to comprehend- the flash hadn't even cleared when the Pokémon kicked up a vortex of sand around itself, swiping the Water type away and forcing her owner and Neptune in opposite directions. Dozens upon dozens of smaller twisters strayed apart from the main one and weaved around the devastated lobby in a helix, reducing everything they touched to pebbles and dust to absorb and grow bigger. The unknown Pokémon inside the tornado of sand let out a roar and the multiple twisters went back to their originator, the localized vortex imploding upon itself and forming a cocoon of sand around the creature.

And then… the real storm began.

The cocoon burst open with enough force to shatter each and every bulletproof window left on the last floor and the battler's on the roof seized their duel upon seeing the typhoon of sand that erupted from the open roof and shot upwards, as if wanting to reach and extinguish the sun itself. Everyone that was out in the streets of Eterna City at that moment stopped whatever they were doing and fixed their widened eyes on the Galactic Eterna Building, now engulfed into a vicious maelstrom of sand from the top floor up.

And then, the whole city heard it. The song of the creature in the center of the sandstorm. A song more beautiful and yet more vicious than anything they had ever heard. The song of the wind that razed down mountains. The song of a student avenging his master. The song of the raging sea as it engulfed the sinking ship. The song of girl weeping for her lover. The song of life and death, protecting and taking life at the same time.

The song of the desert's spirit.

**TBC**


	19. Flower Power

_**Chapter 19:**_

_**Flower Power**_

"So, this is it, I guess," said with a trace of awe in his voice the bespectacled boy as he looked up to the dome-like building, nearly half-overgrown with moss, vines and other greenery.

"Gee, what tipped you off?" pondered Kale's blonde companion with false innocence in her voice. "The gynormous sign of the Pokémon League in front of you or the sign in front of us that says, quote: 'Eterna City Pokémon Gym, gym leader: Gardenia- Master of Vivid Plant Pokémon'."

"Way to burst our bubble, Viv," retorted with a blank look of annoyance the young trainer and the little fire-monkey on his shoulder shrieked in agreement. "Anyway, I told you I remembered- Eterna City's _is_ the Grass type gym!"

Kale punched towards the cheery sun, which was lazily rolling on its daily stroll across the sky, in excitement. Only Kale being cheesy was enough but for his starter to emulate him for the umpteenth time was a tad too much for Viviane's fiery temperament to handle. Seeing the coordinator pinch her nose in annoyance and let out a sigh even deeper and more frustrated than her usual ones, Kale tried defending himself.

"Come on, can't blame me for being happy I've at least the type advantage this time. Against Roark it was me against the world in a sense, but this time, between Blace and Staravia, the badge's as good as mine."

"Yep, and Lucas so didn't own you with a Grass type less experienced than your Fire type starter," forcedly yawned the blonde with disinterest.

"You're a real confidence builder, you know that," sighed Kale with slumped shoulders but quickly perked up immediately afterwards. "I'm just glad, not overconfident. I learned my lesson last time. I didn't even use what I know back then."

Seeing the skepticism in his friend's cerulean eyes, the spiky-haired boy felt the need to elaborate.

"Grass types are not good on the offensive, right? At least not with brute force. They rely on paralyzing, putting to sleep or poisoning their foe. Plus, they can restore health by sapping it out of their opponents, thus killing two birds with one stone. So, to win, I'll have to keep my distance from their nasty spores and powders and stuff and don't let the battle go on for too long- they can outlast me. I'll use the guys' strongest moves from the beginning and won't let the walking plants become a nuisance. See, I've totally got this all covered."

"Remind me, Kale," smirked Viviane and twirled the tip of one of her spiky pigtails around her finger "how's that _not_ overconfidence?"

"I give up," mumbled the young trainer after a long period of silence and standing with mouth slightly agape, yet again silenced by the coordinator's words. "Come on, Viv, how bad can it be? Dad always says that any average Fire type from his gym can sweep any Grass type gym no problem. And FYI, I know what the average Fire type is like and I know Blace's good enough!"

"Really?" asked someone from behind the stunned Kale. The boy felt an ominous feeling crawling somewhere beneath his skin as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Said feeling just kept getting stronger as the speaker, obviously a woman, continued. "Never thought I'd live to see the day when old Charcoal's son would come to challenge my gym and brag how super-awesome Fire types are right in front of it. Kinda ticks me off, y'know," whispered the woman in Kale's ear.

The young trainer gulped audibly and slowly turned around to the smiling face of a woman with short orange hair. Alas, Kale had seen that kind of a smile on Viviane's lips one too many times. And he had seen it certainly enough to know _what_ it meant.

"Now that I think of it, better go train some more," hastily muttered the boy under his breath and turned around to leave the vicinity with the fastest non-suspicious pace he could muster.

"Ah-ah-ah!" exclaimed the gym leader and grabbed the nervous challenger by the collar of his dark blue T-shirt before he could leave. "We're gonna have a battle now, dear, that's what you're here for, right?"

Seeing the woman literally drag the petrified Kale inside the gym, humming a cheery tune all the while no less, Viviane, who had just silently observed everything up to that point, said:

"I like her style."

The blonde was about to follow the duo inside the botanical gym when she remembered there was a third party there- her nonsensical traveling companion of dubious sanity.

"Cho-chop, Captain Insanity, I don't want to miss the whooping she's gonna give Kale," shouted the blue-eyed girl behind her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, coming right up," mumbled the oddly-dressed teen that stumbled out of the thick bushes, dragging an oversized, and obviously over-stuffed, green backpack behind him. Seeing the dents plowed in the ground behind him, Jed scratched his lemon-colored toque in thought. "I think I put at bit too much stuff in there at our last stop… meh, I guess I can do without the chunks of concrete."

* * *

"So, how's old Charcoal doing these days?" shouted Gardenia from her place across the clearing in the center of the seemingly life-sized jungle inside her gym. "Still being as hotheaded as always and rushing into action only to be doused by cold water?"

"Hey, what's with calling Dad names?" barked back Kale and shook his fist at the orange-haired woman.

"Shut it and battle, Kale, trash talking is obligatory tradition!" shouted Viviane through her cupped hands from the bleachers, which were partially covered in vines as well.

"You shut it, Viv, this is serious," cut her off the young trainer with a glare.

"What. Did. You. Say?"

"Err, nothing, m'am, nothing and at all!" nearly whimpered Kale after doing a complete 360 in his current behavior.

"Oh, don't worry, dear," the gym leader cheerfully said to her fellow female. "I guess Charcoal hasn't mentioned it even to his own son. See, when he signed up as a gym leader, he was still using his father's family name- Kole. And since his badass boast on the sign in front of the gym was a taaad longer than usual, they had to shorten his middle name a little. And since Charcoal's father's name was Charles…"

"Kevin Char. Kole," mumbled Jed deep in thought, rocking back in forth to accelerate his, fluctuating in any possible direction, thought process. "I don't get it."

Viviane facepalmed.

"Big deal!" shouted Kale again, all fired up. "Let's get this started so I can prove to you how good I am!"

"Right," smirked Gardenia. "The little boy is ready to get spanked by the professional."

The gym leader nodded towards a teenage girl that appeared from somewhere beyond the miniature jungle and she took the referee's place in the center of the improvised battlefield.

"Right. This will be an official gym match for Eterna Gym's Forest Badge. The match will be three-on-three, with only the challenger allowed to substitute. Eterna City's Gardenia versus Kale of Celestic Town! BEG-"

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

"What now?" shouted leader and challenger at the same time and glared at the teen with dirty-blond hair that had nearly perched himself on the bleacher's railing.

"Well, since Viv didn't do as promised last time," mumbled Jed as he buried himself waist-deep into his titanical backpack in search of some illusive object. "There!" shouted the teen in triumph after taking out a pile of dirty socks from the backpack. "Uhm, wrong one…. There!" almost roared Jed and presented a perfectly ironed, despite the mess inside the backpack, yellow cheerleading outfit adorned with black stripes to Viviane. "You've to cheer for Kale this time. For real. _Letters_, remember?"

Before Viviane could even rear back her punch and send Jed in orbit, the referee had pointed accusingly at the boy and was shouting bloody-murder at him.

"How dare you? Degrading a girl in such a manner! Girls, throw him out!"

The startled teen was taken aback as a mob of females, varying age from thirteen to thirty, tackled him to the floor and hauled him towards the exit. A white flash burst out of the poke ball on the teen's belt just as Jed himself was kicked out and the glass door of the gym was slammed into his face when he valiantly tried going back. The flash of white materialized onto Kale's free shoulder, forming into a multicolored bird with a head in the shape of an eight note.

"Yay! Thought yer not be making tis alive outta this 'ere gym, matey! Yay!"

"Lost a bet to him, too?" sniggered the young trainer.

"Yay! Aye, indeed I did, ya spineless landlubber! Swerve to the portside! Yay!"

"Now that we have him out of the way," announced with irritation the referee and glared at Kale just in case, while giving Viviane an understanding big sister kind of look. "Eterna City's Gardenia versus Kale of Celestic Town! Round one! BEGIN!"

"Well, dear, let's put to the test your Fire type superiority theory!" announced the gym leader with a smirk and tossed a poke ball onto the grassy field. "Cherubi, go!"

"Staravia, I choose you!" shouted Kale and tossed a poke ball of his own, a blue one adorned with an yellow 'X'.

Two Pokémon appeared in the clearing in twin flashes of white. The cocky brown bird with a spiky face-mask and curved feather crest stared down the petite rose-colored Grass type who looked like twin cherries, the bigger one serving as the main body.

"_Cherubi, the Cherry Pokémon. All of the nutrients needed for evolution are contained in its small ball. Cherubi becomes redder as it is exposed to sunlight, and is almost ready to evolve once the smaller ball buds.__"_

"Staravia, don't underestimate it, we've to deal with it before it becomes a menace!" instructed his partner the young trainer and pointed at the little Grass type. "Hit it with Aerial Ace, full power!"

While obviously not understanding what kind of a threat his trainer could see in a walking fruit, the Flying type squeaked affirmatively and jolted towards his pray. The air swirled in razor-sharp streams around the bird's aerodynamic body and he was almost ready to deliver the decisive blow.

"Cherubi, dodge and Growth," calmly, but seriously, ordered the gym leader.

Staravia seemingly flickered out of existence and, a second later, appeared before the Grass type, ready to send her flying. Right in front of Kale's dumbstruck gaze, Cherubi jumped out of harm's way and emanated a bright reddish glow for a few seconds.

"How can it be faster than an Aerial Ace?" protested Kale from his side of the field and his Chimchar nodded in agreement. Chatot squeaked: "Yay! That's life fer ya, matey! One day yer drowning in rum, the other- walkin' the plank. Yay!"

In response, Gardenia smugly pointed towards the bright sun that could be seen through the open roof of the gym. "Cherubi's ability Chlorophyll boosts her speed immensely in sunny weather. And as you see, nature's on our side today. Pretty sweet, no?"

"Yeah. Like diabetics," grumbled Kale. "Staravia, even the odds with Agility and then get up close and personal with Steel Wing! No matter how fast, she can't dodge forever!"

The fiery Flying type let out a battle cry in his own language and, taking a U-turn to reduce speed loss, flickered out for a second before appearing right above the Grass type. Staravia's glowing wing slashed at his petite victim but on Gardenia's orders, the tiny Pokémon just kept on dodging, if barely most of the time, and surrounded herself with the reddish glow over and over again. Finally, an overly frustrated Staravia managed to score a hit and sent Cherubi crashing into a nearby tree.

"Guess, the game's at an end, Cherubi," shouted to her Pokémon a psyched-up Gardenia. "Safeguard!"

The Cherry Pokémon had barely managed to cover herself in a faint blue glow that expanded outwards and formed a semi-transparent dome before disappearing, when Staravia slashed across her with an enlarged steel-hard wing once again. The Grass type was on the verge of collapsing now, obviously not made for enduring hard hits.

"Oh yeah!" cheered Kale. "Time for the finisher, buddy! Aerial Ace"

"Cherubi, Solar Beam!"

The Cherry Pokémon barely stood upright on her stubby legs as she started gathering energy in her now glowing leaves, unflinching in the face of the Flying type surrounded by swirling air speeding towards her. Kale was sure that with what was left of the Agility boost, his partner would make the hit on time any day of the week. Solar Beam took time to charge, after all. Alas, the flying battler had just flickered away just to appear right in front of his opponent when, with a valiant battle cry, Cherubi let loose a vicious beam of compressed sunlight straight into Staravia's face. While badly hurt, the inertia kept him going forward and the Flying type managed to ram into his target after all. Seeing the two unconscious Pokémon on the battlefield, the referee raised both flags.

"Both Cherubi and Staravia are unable to battle. This round is a tie."

"But how?" exclaimed Kale in surprise after both trainers had recalled their partners and thanked them for a job well done. "That wasn't supposed to happen! Even Staravia's ordinary speed guarantees he'd score a hit before a Solar Beam charges!"

"Usually, that's correct. But see, that's the great thing about Grass types," smirked Gardenia. "When the sun shines brightly, even their strongest attacks are charged up faster. Ready to give up?"

"As if!" laughed out loud the challenger and motioned to Blace to jump on the battlefield as the gym leader called out her next Pokémon. This time the flash of white morphed into a light green Grass type, roughly the same size as the Chimchar. The new Pokémon looked like a hula dancer with her leaf skirt and red petals adorning both sides of her head.

"_Bellossom, the Flower Pokémon. When these Pokémon move, their delicate petals rub together, creating a pleasant sound. They are also known for their unique acrobatic dancing abilities.__"_

"Ready, Blace?"

"Chaar!"

"Thought so! Okay, buddy, we're taking them really seriously now! Fire Spin, full throttle!" ordered enthusiastically the young trainer, putting all his trust in his starter.

"Dodge and get closer! Leaf Blade!"

"She's attacking head-on?" exclaimed Kale with eyes widened behind the rectangular glasses.

The Chimchar took a deep breath and exhaled a vortex of flames that rose the temperature in the whole gym a good several degrees. Some of the grass on the swirling fire's path withered away almost immediately but the Bellossom just rushed in without care, somehow managing to zigzag from one side of the vortex to the other, rolling and swirling and jumping around it the whole time.

"Blace, dodge! That move's nearly as dangerous as a Hyper Beam!"

Having bad memories from what a Hyper Beam was from his very first battle, the Chimchar nodded vigorously and used his inborn agility to get out of the way as the Flower Pokémon somehow took out glowing viridian duplicates of the original flowers on her head and used them as weapons. The Fire type found himself in a tight spot. Blace had grown used to being able to out-maneuver almost any foe, no matter the size, and going up against the acrobatic Grass type, who was armed with razor sharp weapons no less, was quite the struggle for him. Regardless, the Chimchar somehow managed to dodge a dozen blows or so, relying on backflips, handstands, swatting his opponent's wrists away or even using her as leverage to jump over. Alas, Bellossom managed to score a vicious hit in the end, putting the Chimchar down on his knees, and then slashed at him one more time, sending him skidding backwards on the grassy field.

"The little guy ain't bad, I'll give you that," said Gardenia, somehow impressed despite the Chimchar's type. "Not many Pokémon can keep up with Bellossom, much less with Chlorophyll active."

"She has this ability, too!"

"Yep. You okay with it?" asked the gym leader cheerfully, albeit with a barely hidden smirk dancing on her lips.

"Just peachy!" grumbled the challenger and tried to think of a successful strategy. "Blace, if they want close combat, we'll give them close combat! Scratch!"

The boy's starter replied with a battle cry and, glowing claws bared, lunged towards the flower battle dancer. Both trainer and Pokémon looked unimpressed and the gym leader just ordered another Leaf Blade. The Flower Pokémon awaited her opponent confidently, the glowing flower-shuriken readied in her stubby hands. The first few strikes went neither way, both Pokémon managing to block and swat away the other's attack. Bellossom had just gained the upper hand and was about to score another hit when Kale's shouted:

"Dodge with Dig!"

The little fire-monkey smirked as the Flower Pokémon's own blow left her crouching forward, enabling him to flip over her and burrow deep into the ground. The Grass type didn't even have time to react as, immediately after the dodge, the Chimchar came bursting out of the ground and sent her flying with a vicious uppercut.

"While she's airborne, buddy! Fire Spin!"

"Bellossom, counterattack with Petal Dance!"

Even Viviane was impressed as the tornado of fire that the Fire type had exhaled was halted by the vortex of flower petals and other greenery it had clashed with. The outcome was uncertain at first but then, swirling even faster, the volley of petals engulfed the rotating column of fire and, upon extinguishing it completely, rammed straight into Blace.

The Fire type shrieked in pain as the vortex surrounded him. Pollens invaded his lungs and made simple breathing painful, dozens upon dozens of petals danced around his body leaving multiple cuts in their wake and the pressure was so crushing that Blace fell on his knees again.

"The attack overpowered a Fire type move!" exclaimed the challenger in amazement, wishing what he was seeing wasn't true.

"Moves of a weaker type can overpower moves of a stronger one by sheer power. Petal Dance happens to be one of the strongest Grass type moves ever," smugly explained Gardenia. "Bellossom, while he's down, Leech Seed!"

The Chimchar had just barely managed to get up on his wobbling knees when his opponent spited out a single seed in his direction that ended up sprouting vicious thorny veins upon contact. The botanical restraints curled around the body of Kale's starter, sending a shock through his system and transferring the stolen energy over to the Bellossom.

"Time to finish this," announced Gardenia to her Pokémon. "Bellossom, Petal Dance again!"

"Blace! Blace, you have to get up!" anxiously shouted Kale as he saw the vortex of flowers swirling around the Grass type's petite body, ready to be unleashed with all its might on his injured starter. "Come on, pal, we've been in worse jams before!"

"Tzk. Sorry, kid," shrugged the gym leader as the botanical tornado, seemingly consisting of all things green and flowery, lunged towards the struggling Fire type.

There was no way to dodge, that was certain. Even if there was time, Blace was just too tired to move anymore. The gaze of the starter fell, knowing that he had failed to win for his trainer this time. The swirling Petal Dance was already upon him, ready to sweep him away and throw him unconscious right into his partner's feet.

"_A trainer never gives up! Even if they have to drag their butt over to the field and fight beside their Pokémon themselves, trainers don't. Give. Up. Those who give up are lower than trash."_

The words just appeared in the Chimchar's mind, unnoticed, and he didn't even know where he had heard them first. A room, an ordinary one that anyone could find in every Pokémon Center, appeared in his mind's eye. The picture changed to one of a boy and a girl, one of them shouting, accusing… vowing to never give up.

Ever.

The Petal Dance rammed like a hungry dragon into its victim, immediately trapping him in a vortex of razor-sharp flowers.

And then, a lone glow appeared from inside the tornado. A scarlet glow that gradually grew stronger as the spinning flames drove away the Petal Dance, setting every single one of them on fire and devouring the rotating column of greenery from within, before driving it away in a single crimson burst. The remnants of the unordered Flamewheel hadn't even scattered away when the Chimchar, still on all fours but tail-flame doubled in size by sheer determination, took one last deep breath. He didn't have to be ordered. Right then and there, Blace knew what Kale was thinking.

The Fire Spin trapped the Bellossom in a swirling inferno of its own, sweeping her off her tiny feet and embedding her into the wall behind the trainer. The Flower Pokémon collapsed on the ground but kept on standing defiantly, somehow getting back onto the improvised field, all the while cheered on by Gardenia.

"Blace, one last time, pal! Flamewheel!" ordered Kale to his own partner.

The tail-flame surrounded his whole body once again as the Fire type spun around, becoming nothing more than a swirling comet that sped towards his foe. Things were finally looking up for Kale. Or not.

Several meters before reaching the dazed Grass type, the swirling sphere halted to an abrupt stop and its flames withered away as the Chimchar's body was rocked by a sudden shock because of the still active Leech Seed, transferring some much needed energy to his foe. On the gym leader's command, Bellossom managed to perform one more Leaf Blade, driving the makeshift weapon across the Fire type's body and finally forcing him to succumb to unconsciousness.

"Just give up already, kid," suggested Gardenia, this time seriously, and with a hint of genuine respect in her voice. "You fought well but you're just not ready for this. Rest for the day, train some more and try again another time. You've proved you can win, you're just not ready."

The gym leader's advice fell on deaf ears as the boy just picked up his bruised and tattered starter from the ground and, cradling him in his arms, handed him over to Viviane on the stands with utmost care. The blonde berated herself for finding some unknown reason deep inside her that somehow prevented her from giving the same advice to Kale. Something just kept her from telling that to the bespectacled boy and seeing his hazel eyes glazed over didn't help either. Eyes that were, in fact, seeing memories of long ago replay in front of them, jus like in the night before his first ever gym battle, in a frantic search for help.

"_Ready? You're gonna take a peek now…. Now! What did you see?" frantically asked the white-haired man as he clasped his gruff __hands on the little boy's twinkling eyes almost immediately and turned him around._

"_I… it was too quick to see, grandpa. I think one of them was a Rapidash… I think, and the other… it had a horn, too. Or not. I'm not sure," sheepishly replied the youngster, eyes wide in hope of receiving the recognition that didn't come._

"_Kale… you know, let's just go for a walk or something, okay?" suggested the elder, barely able to hide the disappointment in his voice from the child, who was as intuitive about such things as many others his age._

"Kale," started Viviane uncertainly, finding the rare loss of words disturbing. "Maybe you should listen to her."

"_I saw them, gramps!" announced a younger Kale triumphantly, not even waiting for the old man to remove his wrinkled palms from his eyes. "One of them was a Scizor- I recognized him by the red armor and the pincers. And the other was a Scyther- him I recognized by the green color and the sickles!"_

"_So it wasn't too quick for you this time?" laughed the aged man, gleaming with pride. "So, Kale, I want you to think really hard about this. If they fight, who is going to win?"_

_The boy's eyebrows knitted and a little wrinkle divided his forehead as he scratched his chin in thought. "The Scizor! He's Scyther's evolved form, right? He can beat him any day because he's better in everything!"_

"Kale, are you alright?" asked the young coordinator with a tone divided between the concern and the urge to hide that alien for her emotion.

"_One more time, gramps, please! __Just one more time!"_

"_Kale, we've been at it for more than half a year now. If you want to be a trainer, you'll just have to wait until you are older like all the others," tried to resist the boy's grandfather but upon being subjected to his grandson's pout, budged. "Oh, okay! One last time! Seriously, my boy, this is your last chance," sternly announced the man as he put his hands in front of the boy's eyes and let him towards the battlefield._

"_A Croagunk and a Bronzor!" proudly announced the spiky-haired boy several minutes and a usual test of peek-and-turn-around later. "The first one I recognized by cheek pouches- the ones for poison. And the Bronzor's just a levitating round… thingie, so it's kinda hard to miss."_

"_So far, so good. Who is going to win?"_

_The younger Kale didn't answer right away this time, thinking back to all the times he had given an answer, different each and every time, only to be led away by his grandfather. The boy tried to find some clue, any clue, in the ton of words sprouted by his grandfather in a wise way all men his age always did. Alas, nothing useful in particular came to mind. The stern gaze of the aging man didn't help one bit but after all, it wasn't like the boy had anything to lose._

"_Both. Neither. Any one of them. There's no way to tell the outcome because they all have strong points and weak points. Croagunk will be outmatched by the Broznor's Gyro Ball turning his own speed against him and its Psychic attacks but he… he can make a comeback, right? Find something to use to his advantage. Uhm… improvise?"_

_Kale's grandfather headed back towards the exit and motioned for his grandson to follow. With slumped shoulders, Kale obliged, knowing all too well that no pout in the world would dissuade his grandfather now._

"_Kale, my boy, I want you to think of five ways the Bronzor can attack and five ways the Croagunk can counter them. And then think of five different ways for the battle to play out."_

_Hazel__ eyes full of hope met vivid green ones as the old man made a promise to the young boy, with pride now clearly evident in his voice._

"_Tomorrow, Kale, we're going to have a practice battle. I've a special Pokémon in store for this one."_

"Never better, Viv, never better," finally replied the young trainer with a lopsided grin now adorning his face. "Rest now, Blace," said the bespectacled boy as he scratched the fire-monkey between his ears. "I'm not recalling you…. Because you want you to see us winning."

"Hey, Miss Referee!" shouted Kale over his shoulder and quickly returned to his place across the clearing. "I think we're all set to finish this."

"You've got guts, I'll give you that," admitted the orange-haired woman across of him and nodded to her subordinate to announce the start of the next round.

"_Remember this, Kale, no battle is set in stone. The possibilities are endless- in a battle you have only a split-second to see what is happening and decide what to do. But even when facing the worst possible odds, a true trainer can find the right way. A nearby rock for cover or leverage. A way to use your __Pokémon's move in a new and different way. Using your opponents own strongest points against them and turning your weaknesses into your strengths. Only fools judge a battle by who's battling, my boy. True trainers judge who's battling by the battle. A true Pokémon Master can defeat a Tyranitar with a Pichu, his decisions are the things that are going to affect the outcome, not the odds that are stacked against him."_

The tips of Kale's fingers reveled at the warm familiar feeling coming from inside, from beyond the surface, of the now-enlarged poke ball in his clenched palm.

"_If you want to be a Master, to be any kind of trainer at all, you have to know one thing above all. No one is undefeatable. Not you, not me, nor your __opponent or anyone else. There's always a chance you have to take and turn into victory. Even when there's seemingly not even a ghost of a chance for victory, stand up proud. Don't give up! A real trainer never gives up, even when he's down to his last Pokémon and the opponent still has six! Even if you have to crawl over to your Pokémon on the field, you must not give up! Ever. Those who give up are lower than trash."_

The metallic sphere split the still air in its wake before bursting open in a blinding flash of white to reveal the flytrap-like Grass type inside.

"_And one last thing, Kale. If you want to be a trainer, you have to ask yourself:' what are __Pokémon to me?' Friends? Servants? Helpers? Pets? Partners? Each of us has the answer deep inside us, an answer different for everyone. I can't answer this one for you, my boy. This time, you have to answer for yourself… what are Pokémon to you?"_

"What… are Pokémon to me?" whispered to himself the young trainer and his hazel eyes bore deep into the center of the red-and-white sphere in his hand. "Pokémon… to me they are not just friends. They are my allies. We face everything together, if one of us falls, the others are there to pick him or her up and try again. None of us can win alone. As allies, we are a team, one and the same. My dream is theirs now and their dreams… are mine. We're allies fighting together for the same cause. Together, we will face everything. Together, we can beat anyone. This is my answer… grandpa."

"CARNIVINE!" the boy's shout tore apart the silence and brought an amused smirk to Gardenia's face and a curious twinkle to her eyes. "Let's do this!"

"BEGIN!"

"Bellossom, don't hesitate!" ordered the gym leader. "Petal Dance full power!"

The vortex of flowers was whipped up again, sent on its way to devour yet another victim using nature's power. The other Grass type stood defiant, having complete trust in her trainer. Kale, fists clenched tightly and sweat dripping down his face, slowly pointed towards the oncoming tornado of greenery.

"Carnivine… use your Vine Whip! Intertwine them and make them spin like propellers!"

The flytrap Pokémon, despite the strange order, didn't hesitate in the least. Greenish-brown botanical tentacles sprang from her abdomen and lunged forward, weaving around each other in a double helix and spinning around, getting faster by the second. The roaring vortex of petals crashed into the makeshift propeller, trying to push its way towards the designated target, but the unusual defense stood strong. This time, Viviane had to admit she was impressed by Kale's move. The spinning of the Vine Whip scattered the Petal Dance, using its own rotation in its favor and showering half the field in a rain of scented flowers upon bursting.

"Figured that if I can't overpower it, I'll use its own force to scatter the attack away," explained the young trainer with a confident smile. "Carnivine, now's our chance! Vine Whip again!"

The botanical tentacles were immediately separated and sent cutting through the scented air. Despite Gardenia's attempts, Bellossom didn't pay heed to any warnings and just stood on her place, writhing around as if tormented by some unseen force. The vines made contact with a sickening snap and literally drove the Flower Pokémon into the ground, digging a whole trench with her as they pushed her meters back, before shooting up and pinning her next to the first hole in the wall behind Gardenia.

"Bellossom is unable to battle! This round goes to Kale and Carnivine!"

"Ata, girl!" congratulated Kale his Carnivine, who sprouted one of her disturbingly wide- and tooth-filled- grins in return. The trainer smirked at Gardenia. "Petal Dance is powerful, but no attack can be this strong without a drawback, no? After using Petal Dance several times, a Pokémon gets confused. That's why you wanted to end this round quickly."

"Never thought it would come to this, kid," admitted Gardenia and with a genuine smile on her face, tossed her last poke ball on the field. "I'm having a blast!"

Another humanoid Pokémon appeared on the field, this one somewhat taller however. Gardenia's last Pokémon had bouquets in place of arms- one red and one blue, and hair made of white rose petals. The creature's leafy cape danced in the air as its owner entered battle stations and stared down the Carnivine with her red eyes.

"_Roserade, the Bouquet Pokémon. Roserade is the evolved form of Roselia. It lures enemies with its sweet aroma, and attacks with dancer-like elegance.__"_

"Another dancer, huh?" exclaimed Kale and threw a curious glance at the Bouquet Pokémon. "We'll see who's gonna do the victory dance today. Carnivine, Vine Whip again!"

"Oh, like we'll let you strike first! Roserade, Poison Sting!" ordered the gym leader enthusiastically.

The elegant Grass type smirked confidently and let out a barrage of purple needles from the poisonous vines hidden behind her scented bouquets.

"Use the Vine Whip to jump up! Bullet Seed!"

The flytrap Pokémon did as instructed and, using her natural Levitate ability to her advantage, whipped the ground with her tentacles and bounced upwards seconds before the poison needles drove themselves deep into the ground beneath her. Carnivine's maw opened wide and she let out a volley of her own- this one composed of yellow bullet-like seeds spitted out at breakneck speed. Roserade was taken by surprise and barely managed to cover her face as the barrage of glowing bullets scored a direct hit.

"Ram into her!"

Gardenia tried to prevent the inevitable but her Pokémon was still too shocked from the initial attack to stop her foe from using the inertia of falling as she proceeded to attack with a mere simple headbutt, delivered by her large flat head. The impact sent the Bouquet Pokémon several meters back and onto the ground, with the Carnivine looming above her and ready to strike the finishing blow.

"Bullet Se-"

"Weather Ball!"

It was time for Kale and his partner to be taken aback as a fiery sphere formed between Roserade's twin bouquet-arms and was shot straight into Carnivine's wide-open mouth from such a short distance. Badly burned, the flytrap Pokémon staggered away and the searing pain left her vulnerable for the barrage of poison needles that followed.

"Carnivine! Don't give up! We can still make it with Vine Whip!" shouted Kale in an attempt to save the situation.

"Oh, please, not this again! Roserade, dodge and finish it with Weather Ball!"

The elegant Grass type danced away from the botanical whip that shot towards her and prepared to power up one final sphere of fire… only to find her leg wrapped by the other whip, protruding from the hole right behind her made by the Chimchar's earlier Dig.

"An old trick of ours," smugly announced Kale as Roserade was pulled halfway underground.

Alas, the Bouquet Pokémon somehow managed not to lose her concentration and conjured a petite meteor which hurled towards her foe. With Carnivine having to detract her vine from underground, there was no way of dodging. A vicious, traitorous thought crawled inside the young trainer's mind for a moment- that all was lost despite all his efforts- but he silenced it quickly. He couldn't escape. Big deal. He'd find another way then. He knew himself and his opponent, her Pokémon and his. And he had a whole split-second to decide what do to.

Just as his grandfather had thought him, that was plenty enough time.

"Carnivine, use Stockpile and swallow the Weather Ball!"

Even with her complete and utter trust towards her trainer, the Grass type wondered whether he had gone nuts for a second, but obliged nonetheless. Yellow energy, along with a lot of scented saliva, gathered inside her gaping maw as Carnivine raised her defenses and prepared for doing the insane. Wild flames burst out of her clenched teeth as she crunched the flaming comet inside her wide mouth and stiffened her whole boy to fight the fire inside her.

"Spit Up! Quickly!"

Carnivine somehow managed not to cringe as she took a deep breath through her widened nostrils and the flames threatened to spread around her body. The determined Grass type spit out all the energy gathered, but instead of only the yellow glowing sphere coming out, a flaming sphere glowing yellow from within was shot out. Gardenia couldn't do anything as, right in front of her widened eyes, Roserade, still stuck waist-deep into the ground, was struck by her own mirrored Weather Ball.

"Roserade is unable to battle! This round and the match go to Kale and Carnivine!"

"We… we did it!" exclaimed Kale and squeezed his Grass type into a bear hug, not even trying to escape as Carnivine nibbled his head in affection. "It actually worked!"

"Yay! Congrats, ya mateys, for a raid well done! Rum and wenches arrr on me t'night! Yay!" squeaked Chatot as he flew in circles above the celebrating trainer.

"Good job, chumley! I knew you'd make it!" announced Jed from somewhere and after looking up, they saw the lemon-colored toque of the teen peeking from a window at least two storeys high.

"What are you doing there?" shouted angrily the referee and looked around for a ladder.

"Oh, leave him be," waved her off Gardenia as she made her way to the victorious challenger who had just taken his starter back from Viviane's hands.

"Gotta hand it to you, kiddo, you know your stuff," admitted the gym leader and put something in Kale's palm just as he called out his Staravia to inform him of their victory.

The Forest Badge shone under the sun-beams of the cheery Sol that entered through the gym's open roof. A trio of viridian tree crowns with a glistening silver lining. Their second badge on the way to the Sinnoh League. The symbol that showed them that yes, it was for real. They were really going up. Both trainer and Pokémon admired the shining token of victory in Kale's palm, not caring about injuries or fatigue and just letting the adrenaline of winning carry them on. Staravia absent-mindedly swatted one of Carnivine's leafy arms aside as she decided to try whether this badge was edible, too.

And then, so suddenly that they didn't notice it at first, the group heard a song. One unlike any their senses have ever perceived. There were no words, no voice even, but all of them somehow understood the meaning behind the message blown by the morning wind all across town. Indeed, the breath of Aeolus carried the tale of death and rebirth in every direction, leaving mesmerized people in its wake.

"Guys, you better come check this out!" shouted Jed from somewhere outside.

Out of the gym in mere seconds, the misfit bunch didn't know what to think as they saw the cocoon of sand, swirling in every possible direction and morphing into alien to the human mind shapes, that had engulfed the top floor of the tallest building in the city.

"That's the Galactic HQ!" exclaimed Gardenia in surprise and ran in the building's direction, stopping only to shout over her shoulder "You three stay here! It may be dangerous!"

"Galactic…"

"HQ?" exclaimed both Jed and Kale and looked at the building trapped in the sandstorm in a brand new light.

"Stay here?" echoed Viviane with a smirk. "Yeah, right."

**TBC**


End file.
